Hassan Hassantaj, referring to the appointment of Hamid Bovard as acting oil minister, said Bovard is a well-regarded, experienced manager from the operational ranks of the oil industry. He said the ministry should therefore focus more than ever on increasing and maintaining production, developing oil fields, securing energy supplies, managing gas and petroleum product imbalances, and making use of the private sector and new technology-based firms.

Hassantaj said maintaining production and securing energy supplies, especially for winter, should be the acting minister's first priority. He said unfinished projects should be completed and gas distribution infrastructure expanded, including supplying gas to upstream regions and distributing gas fairly in northern Iran, to get through the winter. He added that projects the public has demanded for years should be settled based on the real needs of each region and with an equitable approach.

The lawmaker said the Oil Ministry could become the first customer for domestic technologies through sound policymaking and by creating real demand. At the same time, he said, it could help develop a knowledge-based economy by tapping the capacity of universities, research institutes and the oil industry's technology and innovation park.

Hassantaj called attracting domestic and foreign investment for developing oil and gas fields and infrastructure essential. He said mobilizing investment companies and the private sector is a precondition for securing sustainable funding for the industry's development. Parliament expects more from the acting minister than routine administration, he said. Existing operations should be maintained, development projects protected from stoppages, and the oil industry's main priorities and issues clearly defined.