Javad Owji, who delivered a speech during the official inauguration of Sepehr and Jofeir oil fields by President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi via videoconference, added, “The volume of oil extracted from Khuzestan’s fields amounted to 1.7m bpd when the 13th administration took over while the figure now stands at 2.7m bpd.”

The country’s oil output and daily natural gas production have surged 60 percent and 50 million cubic meters (mcm) respectively under the 13th administration, said the minister, adding the daily oil and gas refining capacities have increased 210,000 barrels and 50 mcm during the 30-month period.

He said only 1.5 mcm of associated petroleum gas (APG) were gathered per day when the current government took office while the volume has now soared to 17.5 mcm/d.

According to the oil minister, 132 partly-finished projects worth $28.5 billion have been completed and 50 new projects valued at $48.5 billion have been planned and are now underway under the 13th administration.

Based on the data released by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI), the oil and gas sector’s economic growth stood at 19.8 percent, 25.6 percent, and 21.8 percent in the first, second, and third quarters of the current Iranian calendar year (starting March 21, 2023) respectively, said Owji, predicting that the figure for the fourth quarter will be above 20 percent and the growth will continue.

The West Karoun fields are currently producing 450,000 barrels of oil and 130 million cubic feet (mcf) of gas a day, explained the oil minister, $2 billion will be invested in the first half of the next Iranian year to launch the first phase of the South Azadegan development project, which will help increase its daily production to 200,000 barrels per day.