TEHRAN (Iran News) – Oil Minister Javad Owji says the maximum pressure of the U.S. against Iran has failed, adding that oil industry staff are soldiers of economic jihad and are at the front line of this economic war.
Concurrent with the festivities marking the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Owji highlighted the performance and achievements of Iran’s oil industry since the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
He said despite all pressures and sanctions from the U.S., the country has overcome the maximum pressure of the Americans and oil industry staff are the soldiers of the economic war.
He emphasized the necessity of investment in the oil industry in order to keep up with the rise in the domestic consumption of fuel and its exports. He reiterated that the priority of the current government is to develop oil and gas fields, adding that due to lack of investment in the fields, the drop of pressure during gas supply has occurred and the gas refineries are working under their capacities.
He said that the country needs investment in the oil and gas fields for increasing the pressure and the ministry has planned for keeping the current production as well as discovery of the new fields. He said that the country needs $80b of investment for optimizing the upstream and downstream industries of oil and gas sector and new wells and drilling facilities are required.
Owji said the ministry does its best for investment in the joint and independent oil fields aimed at keeping a least the current amount of production and increase it.
He said that most of investments have been financial and financing in the oil and gas sector especially in the refineries and petrochemical sector, announcing readiness of holding over of a field for development to a holding from A to Z of the project.
He said that in order to attract investors, the ministry has changed the format of contracts by creating diversity in them. He added that in the next 8 years, the ministry will allocate up to $20b of oil and gas resources for developing the fields and the same amount of money will be invested by the Chinese investors under the 25-year cooperation agreement of Iran-China, stating that the ministry tries to have such a contract with Russian investors.
He reiterated that investment is the top priority in the oil and gas industry of the country and if it does not happen now, the country will turn into importers of oil and gas and oil products.
