Speaking with Shana reporter, Mohammadi referred to a period of his cooperation with Paknejad in the 12th administration as deputy minister, noting the nominee for Petroleum Ministry is a strong and decisive manager with a problem-solving approach which is very important for running the Petroleum Ministry and enables him to overcome various challenges.

Praising Paknejad’s satisfactory scientific and educational background, he said that the nominee for the Petroleum Ministry belongs to the oil industry and has grown in the sector which is very important because if someone is chosen from outside the oil industry as petroleum minister it takes time to become familiar with the industry and will be damaging due to lack of knowledge of the oil industry and its extensive functions.

The former CEO of the NPC pointed out that the minister of petroleum is a pioneer, policy maker, and developer and emphasized that mastery of the three pillars of planning, production, and trade in the oil industry is one of the most important things for the success of the minister of petroleum, noting that Paknajad has the necessary work experience and can take great steps towards the oil industry development.

He further emphasized that the next minister of petroleum should pay more attention to the petrochemical sector as an industry that creates value-added and can act as the driving force of development while making an important contribution to the country's foreign exchange revenues.

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian has proposed Mohsen Niknejad as the nominee for the Petroleum Ministry.

Over the recent days, a growing number of oil industry managers have spoken in favor of Paknejad, who will be the 14th administration’s minister of petroleum in case of securing the vote of confidence.

Born in 1966 in the capital city of Tehran, Mohsen Paknejad has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Tehran University and a master's degree in Industrial engineering from the AmirKabir University of Technology.

He has already served in the Petroleum Ministry as the deputy minister of petroleum for supervision over hydrocarbon resources from 2018 to 2021.

Paknejad started his career in the early 1990s in the Ministry of Energy and then moved to the Petroleum Ministry in 1997 where he has served in different managerial posts.