Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad made the remarks Monday during the inauguration of the Tous gas field development project and the Dehloran gas booster station, held in the presence of the president. He said the Oil Ministry has prioritized development of the Tous gas field alongside Phase 2 of natural gas storage at the Shourijeh reservoir to help address the country’s energy imbalance.

Paknejad said the launch and completion of both subsurface and surface facilities at the Tous gas field, located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Mashhad, will increase output by 1.5 million cubic meters per day. He added that continued project execution next year is expected to boost production by another 1.5 million cubic meters per day, bringing total additional output from the field to 3 million cubic meters per day.

Tous Gas Field’s Role in Strengthening the Transmission Network

Paknejad said the strategic importance of the Tous gas field lies in its location, noting that alongside the Khangiran and Gonbadli fields, it helps deliver gas from southern regions to the end of the national transmission network, where pressure drops have been significant.

He said that about two to three weeks ago the gas network approached instability, but thanks to efforts by the National Iranian Gas Co., household gas supply was not disrupted and the network remained stable.

Paknejad said investment in the Tous project totals about $100 million. During the implementation phase, the project created about 150 direct jobs and 400 indirect jobs through domestic contractors and manufacturers, primarily employing skilled local workers from Khorasan Razavi and neighboring provinces.

Associated and Flared Gas Recovery a Key Policy of the 14th Administration

Paknejad said that since the start of the 14th administration, recovering associated and flared gas has been a priority, aimed at preventing waste of national resources and reducing environmental pollution.

He explained that associated gas refers to gas produced during crude oil processing at production units, while flared gas is gas burned under certain process conditions at gas refineries, which he described as a relatively small amount.

Paknejad said that of the roughly 16 million cubic meters of gas now being recovered daily, about 7 million cubic meters were achieved under previous administrations, while about 9 million cubic meters — a significant figure — have been collected over the past 15 to 16 months during the tenure of the 14th administration.

To be updated