Hedayatollah Khademi discussed the gas imbalance situation and the potential challenges in supplying fuel for power plants and industries during winter, stating: "In the course of the damages caused by the war, out of a total of 230 million cubic meters of lost capacity, 100 million cubic meters have been returned to the cycle. Following this event, the Central Oil Company launched several projects to compensate for the decrease in production, and restoration efforts were also carried out in South Pars."
Decrease in Gas Production and Its Consequences
He added: "Before these events, the country's gas production was about 800 million cubic meters per day, but we faced a reduction in production during peak consumption periods. Currently, a decrease of 400 million cubic meters in gas production is a very significant figure and means losing a considerable portion of production capacity and creating serious limitations in meeting the country's needs."
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This former member of the Energy Commission of the Parliament pointed out the consequences of this situation for industries in winter, saying: "A daily decrease of 400 million cubic meters of gas could lead to the shutdown of many industries. Although there are predictions for the use of mazut and other liquid fuels, the volume of the gas production decrease is such that it cannot be easily overlooked, and this event is very significant and concerning."
Gas Supply and Proposed Solutions
Khademi emphasized the possibility of gas supply limitations in winter, stating: "Of course, the situation largely depends on the weather conditions, and we hope that the cold weather will not be severe enough to pose serious challenges for the country. However, northern provinces and some other regions will face more problems, and as announced, 11 provinces are under gas stress."
He further stressed: "Securing gas through imports for a country that holds the second-largest gas reserves in the world is not a correct strategy. Imports not only create dependency in the energy sector but also impose significant costs on the country's economy."
Khademi criticized the country's performance in developing shared oil and gas fields, saying: "Qatar has always performed better than Iran and started extracting from the shared South Pars field years earlier than us. If appropriate investments and planning had been made in previous years for the development of these fields, we would not be facing such a level of imbalance and concern regarding the gas supply for industries and power plants today."
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