Javad Owji made the remarks in an address to the opening ceremony of the Iran Oil Show ‎‎2023 in the ‎Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday, which was attended by Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad ‎Mokhber, Science, ‎Research and Technology Minister Mohammad-Ali Zolfigol, CEO of the National Iranian ‎Oil Company ‎‎(NIOC) Mohsen Khojastehmehr, Syrian Oil Minister Firas Hassan Kaddour, a number of the ‎Iranian ‎Parliament’s members as well as other Iranian officials and senior oil industry directors.‎
Owji said the scopes and importance of Iran Oil Show ‎‎2023 are far beyond those of a normal exhibition ‎event as it has provided the ground for cooperation among the Iranian and foreign individuals and ‎companies involved in the oil industry.‎
He added the great event is, as a matter of fact, among the biggest exhibitions in the Middle East and the ‎world, which has been held with greater prosperity year after year despite the cruel sanctions imposed on ‎Iran’s oil and gas industry. ‎
The minister said in the exhibition, domestic and foreign firms, contractors, investors, constructors, ‎knowledge-based companies and academic centers involved in the oil and gas industry’s upstream and ‎downstream sectors present their needs and challenges and prepare the ground for holding negotiations ‎and commencing trade cooperation in the future. ‎
Owji put the number of the domestic firms in the expo at 1,500, listing the countries whose firms have ‎taken part in the event as Russia, China, Belarus, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, India, the UAE, ‎Oman and Türkiye. ‎
He hailed the greater participation in this year’s exhibition compared to the previous ones, saying the ‎numbers of the domestic and foreign firms taking part in the present edition have increased by 35 and 100 ‎percent respectively.‎
Owji pointed to the presence of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who arrived in Iran on ‎Tuesday on a ‎two-day visit at the head of a trade delegation, and Russian companies in the exhibition, ‎saying Iran has extensive cooperation with Russian firms.‎
He stressed that the presence of the Russian delegation in Iran is indicative of the depth of the two ‎countries’ cooperation in the oil and gas sectors, adding business-to-business (B2B) meetings are being ‎held between Iranian and ‎Russian firms on the sidelines of the exhibition. ‎

Reserves, production ‎

The minister noted that Iran sits on the world’s largest oil and gas reserves combined, saying the country’s ‎recoverable oil reserves stand at 154 billion barrels, and its gas reserves are about 33 trillion cubic meters. ‎
He emphasized that in the light of the incumbent administration’s measures, the country’s production of ‎oil, gas, petroleum products and petrochemicals will continue reflecting a growing trend in the coming ‎years as before. ‎
The minister noted that despite the intensification of the cruel sanctions, Iran has so far set favorable ‎records in the production and exports of crude oil, condensates, petroleum products and ‎petrochemicals. ‎
Owji said Iran currently produces 3 million barrels per day of oil and 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas ‎daily, putting the country’s daily oil refining capacity at 2.4 million barrels.‎
The minister said the country’s capacity of producing petrochemicals stands at 95 million tons per annum, ‎giving the assurance that measures have been devised to prevent the cruel sanctions from depriving Iran of ‎the maximum development of its oil and gas industry. ‎
He added Iran is self-sufficient in all oil industry sectors, noting that in parallel with boosting its production ‎capacity, the country has pursued increasing its exports, proof of which is the twofold growth in the ‎overseas sales of crude oil and condensate since the beginning of the incumbent administration’s term in ‎office in August 2021, despite the intensification of the cruel sanctions on Tehran.‎

Investments welcome ‎

He voiced Iran’s readiness for attracting domestic and foreign investors, saying close to €160 billion in ‎investment opportunities have been created in the Iranian oil industry’s upstream and downstream sectors.‎
Among the Iranian participants in the expo, whose motto is “Oil Industry; Technological Production, ‎Optimal Consumption”, are the officials of NIOC, National Petrochemical Company, National Iranian Gas ‎‎Company, National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, Iranian Oil, Gas and Petrochemical ‎‎Products Exporters’ Union, Iranian Petroleum Industries Equipment Manufacturers Association and Iran ‎‎Industrial Equipment Manufacturers Association, and representatives of knowledge-based firms, ‎‎technology parks and startups.  ‎
The exhibition will be open to visitors every day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (0530 to 1330 GMT) until ‎Saturday. ‎