According to IRNA, Javad Owji told reporters today (Wednesday, January 11) on the sidelines of the meeting of the government cabinet: “We will have a severe cold snap approaching that will cover most of the Iranian provinces, but with the measures of the Ministry of Petroleum, we are producing maximum from independent gas fields, but we are at the peak of gas consumption.”

He added: “We asked the people to comply beforehand and announced ways to use gas efficiently, which is to wear warm clothes and reduce the temperature by one degree.”

The Minister of Petroleum continued: “Based on meteorological reports, we predicted that we will have a very cold Siberian air front, which has started and will cover both the northeastern regions of the country and gradually the whole country; the temperature of about 21 provinces has dropped to minus zero and we have severe frost. Even in some provinces, temperature reaches minus 21 and 22 degrees.”

Owji noted: “With the measures taken, the Ministry of Petroleum, the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) produce maximum gas from joint fields, independent gas fields and all gas refineries. Overhauls of all transmission lines and pressure booster stations had already been done and we had seen good measures in the matter of gas supply and production.”

He said: “Each degree of temperature reduction on the part of household customers results in 25 million cubic meters in reduced gas consumption.”

The Minister of Petroleum announced: “Today, we are at the peak of gas consumption from South Pars and independent gas fields, and we are managing the distribution. Our red line is household gas, and according to the president's order, the issue of people's household gas is the first priority of the Ministry of Petroleum and NIGC.”

Mr. Owji further said nearly 630 million cubic meters of gas equivalent to 3.75 million barrels of oil are consumed daily in the domestic, commercial and non-major industrial sectors of the country.