TEHRAN — Attacks on four major Iranian gas refineries caused the loss of 230 million cubic meters of daily gas production capacity, but the national network was restored and stabilized within four hours, a National Iranian Gas Company official said on Wednesday.
Houshang Seidali, director of gas supply coordination at the National Iranian Gas Company, said the four refineries were hit on March 17, causing the loss of 230 million cubic meters of production capacity.
He said the lost capacity was assessed immediately and the company began planning to manage the disruption, with staff at the national and provincial levels working with transmission and provincial gas companies to maintain network stability.
“Given the sensitivity of the gas network, if the network became unstable, returning it to normal conditions would not have been easy,” Seidali said, adding that consumption restrictions in some sectors helped stabilize the network within about four hours.
The company also began working to restore lost production capacity, with plans drawn up during the first four days after the incident, he said.
About 100 million cubic meters of the lost capacity is expected to return to service by October, with part of that capacity already restored, Seidali said.
The return of a fourth refinery to operation in October will restore about 100 million cubic meters of capacity, leaving a deficit of 130 million cubic meters, he said.
That shortfall will come on top of an existing gas imbalance from previous years, requiring cooperation across government and economic sectors, Seidali said. The National Iranian Gas Company and Oil Ministry are continuing to work on plans to manage the deficit.
Seidali warned that the coming winter could be among Iran’s most difficult in recent years because of the lost capacity and existing supply imbalance.
He said Iran is planning for a 15% reduction in gas consumption, calling on provinces and consumers to cooperate. Restrictions on industrial users may become unavoidable during periods of high winter demand, although the company would seek to minimize them because of industry’s contribution to production and value creation.
“The red line of the National Iranian Gas Company is the continuation of services to the people,” Seidali said, adding that efforts will focus on ensuring household gas supplies despite the capacity shortfall.
He also praised gas-sector workers in Kermanshah province for maintaining operations during the war and said the company would continue to rely on specialized and capable personnel.
Seidali expressed hope that cooperation among national and provincial authorities, consumption management and public participation would allow Iran to get through the coming winter without major disruption despite the remaining 130 million cubic meter capacity deficit.