Speaking at a ceremony held Sunday to appreciate the outgoing petroleum minister Javad Owji and introduce Mohsen Paknejad as the new Petroleum Minister in the presence of the first vice president Mohammad Reza Aref, Paknejad said that his agenda as Petroleum Minister will be focused on the realization of the 7th National Development Plan targets.

Paknejad said: “According to my presented plan to the Parliament, the basis of the work of the Petroleum Ministry will be the realization of the Seventh Development Plan targets.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, he referred to gasoline and natural gas imbalances as two main challenges the oil industry faces.

Iranian Minister of Petroleum said the oil industry is in a critical situation and needs tough and urgent decisions to be rescued.

He said in coming years, the Petroleum Ministry will pursue implementing plans not only to maintain current level but to raise oil production, and to this end it will focus on completing and operating oil wells, removing production obstacles, and modernizing facilities.

He continued: We also plan to mobilize all our domestic capabilities to realize the target of boosting oil production by 400 thousand barrels per day next Iranian calendar year which begins on 20 March 2025.   

Paknejad also said that the implementation of plans to maintain gas production stable, the completion of phase 11 of the South Pars gas field, and the completion of production plans in Iran's Central Oil Fields Company (ICOFC), especially the implementation of pressure boosting plans in the South Pars gas field are the main goals as far as it concerns natural gas.  

In the coming years, collecting associated gases will be continued as planned and we will use new technologies to develop the upstream sector, he noted.