Javad Owji told a live televised interview on Friday that by God's grace, 8 billion dollars of half-finished projects will be completed in the current calendar year, adding the projects are aimed at addressing such priorities as enhancing oil and gas production, boosting gas refining capacity, gas transmission pipelines, petrochemical compounds and gathering associated petroleum gases.

Referring to the president's emphasis on the implementation of half-finished projects and the need to determine their fate as soon as possible, he clarified: “Since the beginning of the work of the government, with a jihadist action, the Ministry of Petroleum has carried out basic and infrastructure works to complete the half-finished projects, and priority projects have been identified.”

One of the projects is Phase-11 of the massive South Pars gas field development. Once operational, the project will add 14 million cubic meters of gas to the country’s natural gas production capacity.

Owji also announced the completion of the third sweetening train of the South Pars Phase-14 Refinery, and said: "The most important of all projects was the South Pars Phase-14 Refinery, which will become fully operational by the calendar yearend to March 2023.

He mentioned new development plans, and announced: “Good projects and plans for increasing oil and gas production, increasing refining capacity, including petrol production, gas oil, gas transmission lines and collecting flare gases, as well as petrochemical complexes and complementary chain industries, and most importantly consumption optimization projects for which we have signed $110 billion of memorandums and contracts.”

The Minister of Petroleum added that for these plans, the capacity of investment participation of domestic and foreign sectors have been tapped.