Esmail Seqab-Esfahani said in a televised interview Saturday evening, May 9, that restoring some damaged capacity requires specialized equipment, safety testing and heavy spending. At the same time, he said, the responsible agencies have been working at full capacity since the earliest days to restore operations.

Seqab-Esfahani said that, contrary to some accounts, not all refineries have gone offline, but the damage also cannot be described as minor. He said restoring some damaged capacity will take between 18 months and two years.

He emphasized that because of damage to the country’s gas, gasoline and diesel capacity, the country will still face a difficult period this summer and winter even if all financial resources and access needs are met.

Seqab-Esfahani said there are two paths for getting through the current situation. The first is boosting production and rebuilding damaged capacity, which the government is pursuing forcefully, though the results will largely appear in the coming years. The second is public cooperation through managing and reducing energy consumption, which he said will be essential and decisive for getting through the summer ahead.