The Iranian oil industry, as one of the pillars of the country's economy, has undergone remarkable transformations over the more than four decades since the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

This industry has not only played a key role in the production and export of oil and gas but has also taken significant steps in advancing technology, achieving industrial independence, and meeting the country's energy needs.

However, alongside these achievements, there have been challenges and shortcomings that, if identified and addressed, can illuminate the path forward for this industry. In a series of interviews with a group of oil industry managers and experts, SHANA sought answers to two key questions:

1- What has been the most significant achievement of Iran's oil industry over the past 46 years?

2- What is the most important measure that has been neglected during these years?

The first part of the interviews with senior oil industry managers follows:

Hassan Montazer-Torbati, former deputy minister of oil for gas affairs (2018–21):

The development of South Pars is one of the most important achievements of the oil industry over the past 45 years. Without it, the country would have faced severe difficulties. The regional value of its production amounts to $80 billion annually. Therefore, the expansion of gas distribution, which has provided natural gas to over 95% of the population, is a highly significant achievement, even though it has sometimes been criticized for making the country overly dependent on gas. Had gas distribution not been developed to this extent, we would be facing even greater imbalances today.

Currently, even though most heating systems run on gas throughout the year and liquid fuel consumption is minimal, we still suffer from air pollution. If clean gas fuel had not been developed and replaced liquid fuels, the air pollution situation would undoubtedly be much worse, and we would have virtually no oil left for export.

The extensive development of the gas transmission network has also ensured efficient gas distribution across the country and created a solid infrastructure for gas trade with neighboring countries, whether for imports or exports. However, the lack of coordination between gas production and consumption growth, as well as the failure to optimize energy consumption, are criticisms of the gas industry's development.

The failure to optimize energy consumption has been the most significant shortcoming in recent years, with various reasons behind it. Part of the problem is related to the inappropriate pricing of domestic energy carriers. Since prices have not increased adequately and at the right times, this has become a major challenge for the country.

On one hand, the economy cannot withstand price hikes, and on the other, the lack of rational pricing has hindered the proper development of optimization measures. Some of the reasons for inefficient consumption are the lack of access to modern technology and the inappropriate pricing of energy products.

The issue of unsuitable pricing in recent years has led the country to a point where, despite being the world's top holder of oil and gas reserves and producing gas at maximum capacity, we still face an energy imbalance crisis. Additionally, the lack of attention to developing renewable energy sources, such as solar panels or wind turbines, must be counted as another oversight.

Mohsen Qamsari, former director of international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company (2011–16):

One of the most important achievements of the oil industry after the revolution has been the cultivation of self-reliance and independence in all aspects.

Before the revolution, many aspects of the oil industry, including decision-making, execution, and even supervision of operations, were directly managed from London. Our major oil terminals were entirely dependent on foreign commands and control. However, after the revolution, all these processes were completely taken over by domestic forces and hardworking oil industry experts. This shift demonstrated the national resolve to cut dependencies and prove domestic capabilities.

Although many significant projects were undertaken in the oil industry after the Islamic Revolution, one of the most important actions that could have been taken but was not fully realized was sufficient investment in the industry's infrastructure. Upgrading facilities, modernizing production technologies, and streamlining processes were among the measures that could have multiplied the productivity of the oil industry. However, we still face shortcomings in these areas that need to be addressed. I hope that with the determination of officials and the efforts of the hardworking oil industry employees, we can overcome these shortcomings and achieve a more deserving position in this field. Self-reliance and independence have been and will continue to be the keys to our success.

Gholamreza Manouchehri, former deputy for development and engineering at NIOC (2016–18):

The most notable achievement of the oil industry after the Islamic Revolution has been in the field of gas production and the development of gas fields. Before the revolution, gas production was limited to associated gas, but today, with the development of gas fields, especially South Pars, over one billion cubic meters of gas are added to the country's daily production. If we consider only South Pars, over 800 million cubic meters of gas are produced daily from this field.

Additionally, the increase in gas production has supported the development of the petrochemical industry, reaching a nominal capacity of 90 million tons, which is a highly valuable achievement made possible by leveraging gas resources.

Despite our successes in gas production, unfortunately, our performance in oil production has not been adequate. Apart from issues such as sanctions and insufficient investment, the long-standing mindset at high government levels regarding increasing oil production has been flawed. The focus on preserving oil resources for future generations and avoiding increased production has, in a way, prevented us from maximizing the extraction and utilization of oil resources.

By settling for maintaining production levels and focusing on protective measures, we have missed opportunities to increase production. While maintaining production is important and should be on the agenda, we should not have limited ourselves to it. It would have been better to plan and invest in increasing production as well.

"Extensive bureaucracy and the state-centric management of the NIOC," "failure to utilize the private sector's capacity in developing oil and gas fields," "minimized international interactions for oil development due to sanctions," and "the dominance of traditional approaches and the lack of attractive contractual models for domestic and international companies to participate in oil industry development" are among the issues that need to be revisited.

It should be noted that we currently have at least 100 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Even with a production of 6 million barrels per day (currently below 4 million), we would not extract half of these reserves in the next 30 years. Thus, our opportunities are rapidly slipping away, and we must address existing obstacles and use modern technologies to exploit our oil resources.

Ali Kardor, former investment deputy at NIOC (2013–16) and former NIOC head (2016–18):

I believe that during the nationalization of the oil industry, the executive sector was not fully transferred to Iran. In reality, only parts of the contracts and their supervision came under Iran's control. However, after the Islamic Revolution, the oil industry was truly nationalized. During this period, all operational, developmental, production, and engineering activities were taken over by Iranians, which is a great honor for the country. We were able to manage our oil independently and without reliance on foreign entities.

Despite initial successes, we were unable to continue this path with the technological advancements offered by advanced international companies. As a result, significant progress in technology and capability enhancement was neglected. We needed to invest in advanced global technologies in the long term, alongside maintaining our independence, to play a more prominent role in the global market. Unfortunately, this area was managed in a sporadic and inconsistent manner, leading to shortcomings in advanced technologies.

On the other hand, due to sanctions and reliance on basic technologies, the high production capacity of oil, which could reach 8 million barrels per day, has not been fully utilized. Over these years, Iran's oil production has remained at around 4 million barrels per day, reducing our role in the global market. If we can develop these capacities, removing Iran from the global market would become much more costly for others.

Safar-Ali Keramati, former director of OPEC affairs and energy relations at the Ministry of Oil (2010–13):

The discovery, investment, and development of the South Pars gas field, despite the challenges and limitations imposed by U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran in the past decade, can be considered one of the largest and most important achievements of Iran's oil industry after the Islamic Revolution. This gas field plays a vital role in meeting the country's energy needs and driving Iran's economic growth, with widespread impacts on the development of energy infrastructure and increasing the country's foreign exchange earnings.

On the other hand, one of the most significant weaknesses and shortcomings in Iran's oil industry after the Islamic Revolution has been the lack of sufficient attention to the upgrading, modernization, and development of the country's refining industry.

This neglect has not only led to increased shortages of petroleum products needed by society but has also caused significant environmental problems. Insufficient investment, in addition to creating economic challenges, has placed additional pressure on the country's environment, highlighting the urgent need for reform and development in this sector of the oil industry.