During a joint meeting held at the Ministry of
Petroleum with Seyyed Ahmadreza Dastgheib, the head of the Supreme Audit Court,
Javad Owji, yesterday (Tuesday, December 12, 2023), stated that the cooperation
between the Supreme Audit Court and the Ministry of Petroleum has been strong.
He expressed the need for this collaboration to
intensify day by day. Additionally, he advised colleagues and deputies to
provide responses to the queries and ambiguities raised by the Supreme Audit
Court, which acts as a supervisory body.
In this meeting, Owji presented a two-year
performance report of the Ministry of Petroleum in the thirteenth government
term, stating, "The most important issue in the oil and gas industry is
investment. A country ranking first in total oil and gas reserves has
significant potential for investment."
He continued, "One of the positive actions
taken by the Ministry of Petroleum in the thirteenth government term has been
investment, which has been aligned with increased production in the oil, gas,
petroleum products, and petrochemical sectors."
Owji pointed out key projects executed by the Ministry
of Petroleum to enhance production across various segments of the oil industry,
including sustaining and increasing oil and gas production, production from
shared fields, increasing gas storage, exploring new fields, expanding oil and
gas refining capacity, upgrading petroleum products, boosting petrochemical
production, and expanding gas refinery capacities, marking them as pivotal
projects.
He added, "To date, we have brought 132
semi-finished projects or initiatives in the oil industry to operational
status. In 1401, 48 projects became operational, and this year, 67 projects
have become or will become operational, in tandem with the production
increase."
The Minister of Petroleum specified, "Work
on completing 50 new projects, in alignment with production escalation, has
commenced, with an estimated value of $47.5 billion. The total investment in
completed or initiated projects so far amounts to $76 billion."
"In 1400, we defined investment areas and
projects for four main companies under the Ministry of Petroleum. The sum of
these efforts includes 182 projects, in addition to the $76 billion," Owji
explained.
He highlighted some significant Ministry of
Petroleum undertakings, such as completing and operating phase 11 of South Pars
and phase 14 of South Pars Refinery, both at 64% completion over 12 years, both
of which became operational within the last two years. Other notable
achievements included the completion and operation of the South Pars phase 16
pipeline, power plant construction, and more.
Referring to contracts aimed at developing shared
fields, he emphasized ongoing or initiated development and operational activities
in fields like Azadegan, Azar, and other predominantly western Karun fields.
Owji touched upon the gas flaring collection
initiative by the Ministry of Petroleum, stating, "In the last two years,
the Ministry of Petroleum has made significant strides in collecting flared
gases, having collected 11.5 million cubic meters of flared gas to date. In
1403, 32 million cubic meters of flared gases will be collected. Furthermore,
54 gas flaring collection projects, with a $5.5 billion contract, have been
signed, and all their fates will be determined by year's end."
He outlined efforts towards increasing refining
capacity, expanding gas transmission lines, boosting oil refinery capacities,
petrochemical projects, increased oil and gas production, gasoline production,
augmenting oil exports, revenue collection from oil, as well as increasing gas
supply to cities and rural areas.
Regarding the recent statistics from the
Statistical Center concerning the economic growth of the oil and gas sector, Owji
stated, "Fortunately, the Statistical Center of Iran's report for the second
quarter shows a 25.6% economic growth in the oil and gas sector."
Finally, Owji highlighted the significance of
energy diplomacy in augmenting oil exports, acknowledging the instrumental
roles played by the President, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and others. He
noted their ability to identify various markets for oil sales, petroleum
products, and petrochemicals.
He concluded by acknowledging the Ministry of
Petroleum's top position in providing technical and engineering services,
utilizing the maximum capacity of knowledge-based companies. Additionally, he
underlined the Ministry of Petroleum's shift towards domestically producing
previously imported goods and its commitment to social responsibilities across
various sectors like water and electricity supply, sports, culture, and more.