Speaking at the seventh Winter Fuel Coordination Meeting on Tuesday, Saeid Tavakoli told a group of headquarters managers and provincial gas company directors that more than 3.5 billion cubic meters of gas had been delivered to power plants and at least 700 million cubic meters more to industries since the beginning of the year. He stressed, however, that this does not mean conditions have returned to normal.

“This achievement has been possible through the efforts of employees and proper consumption management,” Tavakoli said. “We should not be complacent. Success is the result of correct performance across all areas of gas production, transmission, and distribution.”

He added that with the onset of winter, planning and conducting field inspections must remain a top priority. “Comfort temperatures in offices must be monitored precisely, and any violations should be addressed firmly,” he said.

Gas Production Stability Reflects Integrated Management

Tavakoli noted that average temperatures in December were about 0.7 degrees Celsius lower than last year, but due to low precipitation, the public may not have noticed the drop. He cited statistics showing that in the first six months of the year, 43% of all gas fed into the network went to power plants, 39% to industries, 3% to transportation, nearly 2% to the public sector, and the remainder to households — reflecting stable production and effective utilization of existing capacity.

He said the main reason for the successful supply of additional fuel to various sectors was integrated management at the Ministry of Oil, close coordination between provincial gas managers and governors, and teamwork that ensured coherent decision-making while preventing regional or sectoral silos.

Tavakoli also highlighted the limited diversity of Iran’s energy mix. “Unfortunately, 73 to 75% of the country’s energy basket consists of gas. This is unusual globally and not advisable. Social expectations and lawmakers alike call for a more diversified energy portfolio,” he said.