Iran seeks partial recovery of war-hit gas output within months
Iran expects to restore part of the natural gas production capacity lost during the war within the next few months, a senior presidential official said on Monday, while urging energy conservation to help the country overcome supply imbalances.
Speaking at a crisis management committee meeting in Asaluyeh, Executive Vice President Mohammad Jafar Qaempanah said the enemy attacks had taken about 230 million cubic meters of the country's gas production capacity offline, IRNA reported.
He said oil industry specialists were expected to restore 100 million cubic meters of that capacity within the next few months.
The loss is significant compared with Iran's daily gas production of about 650 million cubic meters and has added to the country's existing gas imbalance, he said.
Iran holds the world's second-largest natural gas reserves.
The country has remained on a war footing since a US-Israeli coalition launched attacks on the country in late February, particularly targeting civilians and infrastructure during a 40-day conflict. After a pause of several weeks, attacks on Iran's infrastructure resumed on July 11.
Israeli air strikes in March damaged several gas-processing facilities along the coast of Bushehr Province. Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said in June that Iran had restored about 30 million cubic meters of gas-processing capacity lost during the 40-day war.
Qaempanah said that none of Iran's oil and gas export terminals had been shut despite the attacks and that industry workers had prevented production from coming to a halt.
He said the government's priority was to ensure stable electricity and gas supplies so that industrial production, particularly in manufacturing and petrochemicals, could continue without disruption and employment would not be affected.
He also said the government was pressing ahead with the expansion of solar power plants and that part of the new generating capacity had already been connected to the national grid to help improve electricity network stability.
Iran's installed renewable power generation capacity has exceeded 5,400 megawatts, according to the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA). Jafar Mohammadnezhad Sigaroudi, the organization's deputy investment director, said on Monday that the government's target of reaching 7,000 MW by the end of the summer remained in place despite constraints on imported equipment.
"At present, around 1,000 to 1,500 MW of renewable power plants are under construction, and most of the equipment for these projects has either been secured or is in the supply pipeline. If alternative procurement routes become operational, achieving the 7,000 MW target by the end of the summer will not be out of reach," he said.