Speaking on Friday, Mr. Owji said consumers who fail to follow the standard consumption pattern will undoubtedly be fined.

He announced the current figure of the country's gas consumption in the domestic, commercial and non-major sectors as 490 million cubic meters, and said: "This amount has increased by 140 million cubic meters compared to the same period last year, which is a very high figure."

"Unfortunately, nothing has happened in the last two to three years in the investment sector for gas production, and therefore our gas production is similar to last year," he said. "This is in a situation where gas consumption has increased by about 10 to 12 percent."

Emphasizing the need to invest in the country's gas industry, Owji said: "During the last two to three months, various meetings have been held in the Ministry of Petroleum and the administration to increase gas production and good planning has been done in this regard. We have started operations in some fields, including the development of the North Pars gas field, completion of the Kish gas field, as well as South Pars phases, but these investments will undoubtedly take several years to boost gas output.”