The head and members of the Committee met Sunday, May 17, with the CEO and senior managers of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company. During the meeting, they commended the Oil Ministry’s performance during the conflict and discussed issues related to gasoline and other petroleum products, as well as challenges facing the sector.

Shamseddin Hosseini, head of the Economic Committee, said the country’s adversaries had sought in recent years to damage Iran’s oil industry through sanctions and, later, by launching the imposed war and imposing a naval blockade. He said oil industry managers and employees countered those efforts through remarkable and jihadi work.

Mostafa Motavarzadeh, a committee member, said the public did not experience fuel shortages, particularly gasoline, during the war. “Iran should be proud to have such workers in its oil industry,” he said.

Alireza Zandian, another committee member, said the oil minister demonstrated strong leadership during the conflict. He added that several ministers performed well in recent months, singling out Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad. “He managed the ministry during the third imposed war in a way that makes us proud to have such a minister,” Zandian said.

Jafar Qaderi, deputy head of the Committee, also praised the oil industry and the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company. He said fuel consumption could be managed by expanding renewable energy, converting gas-fired power plants to combined-cycle plants and increasing the supply of compressed natural gas to public and private vehicles.

Committee members Fatemeh Maqsoudi and Gholamhossein Zarei also said the Oil Ministry effectively supplied the public with needed fuel during wartime conditions. They emphasized the need to reform energy consumption patterns and use nonprice measures in the fuel sector.