The Minister of Oil announced an increase in liquid fuel reserves for power plants during the cold season to ensure that power plants do not go dark due to reduced gas supply. This action comes at a time when the gas imbalance continues and gas processing capacity has decreased.
Gas Imbalance and Upcoming Challenges
Mohsen Paknejad referred to the exit of four gas refineries from operation and announced that approximately 230 million cubic meters of gas processing capacity has been lost. Despite the oil industry's efforts to recover nearly 100 million cubic meters of this capacity, more than 120 million cubic meters of shortfall remains. This shortfall directly affects the distribution of gas among residential, power plants, and industries.
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The Minister of Oil emphasized that liquid fuel reserves for power plants have increased, stating that fuel oil and diesel have been stored to compensate for the delivery shortfall with alternative fuel during peak gas consumption days. However, this substitution is only a temporary measure and may not resolve the gas crisis but rather change its location.
Fuel Storage and Economic and Environmental Challenges
Ensuring sufficient liquid fuel for power plants in winter is an important issue that requires closer examination. The main question is how long these reserves will be sufficient and whether they can meet long-term needs. If the severe cold wave continues and residential and commercial gas consumption remains high, the situation will become more complicated.
Switching from natural gas to liquid fuel means introducing new costs into the equation. These costs include transportation, storage, and the environmental consequences of using fuel oil. Therefore, it must be carefully examined whether the costs incurred from using liquid fuel are justifiable.
The Minister of Oil pointed out that liquid fuel storage can temporarily prevent power plant outages, but this does not mean that the energy imbalance is resolved. If every year, as winter approaches, the country resorts to emergency storage, the root causes of this problem must be addressed.
Ultimately, fuel storage can help manage the situation, but it is not the only solution to the structural energy problems. The government must answer the question of what the plan is for overcoming the gas shortfall if the cold winter persists and how to fundamentally resolve the energy imbalance.
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