550 Strikes Hit Kharg, But Iran’s Oil Exports Kept Flowing
TEHRAN — Iran’s crude oil exports did not stop for a single hour during a 40-day war despite repeated attacks on oil infrastructure, including more than 550 strikes on Kharg Island, Petroleum Minister Mohsen Paknejad said Sunday, describing the continuity of exports and rapid restoration of damaged facilities as major achievements of the oil industry.
“The point that is very important and is considered one of the lasting measures of Iran’s oil industry is the continuation of exports under crisis conditions,” Paknejad said in a comprehensive interview reviewing the performance of his ministry over the past two years.
“During the 40-day war ... the country’s crude oil exports did not stop even for one hour,” he said.
Kharg Island, a key center for Iran’s oil exports, came under particularly heavy attack, Paknejad said. The island, with an area of about 23 to 24 square kilometers, was hit more than 550 times, but oil loading operations continued while the island was under bombardment.
“Our colleagues continued loading ships with authority under the bombardment,” he said. “This performance is heroic, and I believe history should judge this resistance.”
Paknejad said he considered it his duty to acknowledge the performance of workers across the oil industry, particularly those involved in exports, adding that oil shipments continued in good conditions without serious restrictions during the period, while oil prices also increased.
The ministry faced further pressure after the war as naval blockades were imposed, but it was able to continue selling and delivering oil to customers thousands of kilometers from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, he said.
“In the first stage, a line between Ras al-Hadd and Gwadar, Pakistan, had been defined,” Paknejad said. “With extensive measures, we were able to get past this blockade.”
Although restrictions remained on moving oil beyond the blockade line, the ministry used available opportunities to deliver crude to customers in distant markets, he said.
The first blockade lasted from around April 13 or 14 until about June 17 or 18, according to Paknejad. During the subsequent pause, the ministry moved a considerable volume of oil outside the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf to make delivery to customers possible.
“A subsequent blockade began on July 15,” he said. “These blockades are very difficult and have a significant impact. Although we are currently facing the continuation of this situation, the oil industry has not stopped.”
“We are pursuing various solutions and measures so that we can completely bypass these blockades in the near future,” he added.
Paknejad said the industry’s ability to restore damaged infrastructure was demonstrated particularly during attacks on gas-processing facilities.
On March 17, he said, four gas refineries — the third through sixth refineries in Asaluyeh — were hit. Production had to be reduced substantially in the first hours after the attacks.
“We were very worried about what the situation would become,” Paknejad said. “In those initial hours, we were forced to reduce a significant part of production.”
But specialists at the National Iranian Gas Company and the National Iranian Oil Company were able to restore part of the lost capacity within hours, he said.
“Fortunately, relying on the specialized and technical expertise of our colleagues ... we were able within a short period and in only a few hours to restore parts of the lost capacity,” Paknejad said.
The reconstruction process began within one to three days of the strikes, with emergency coordination meetings held immediately and responsibilities divided among the relevant units.
“Usually, after such strikes, refinery operations begin with debris removal, and in this case too, these processes began within two or three days,” he said.
A significant portion of the reconstruction has since been completed, Paknejad said, with the remaining work expected to contribute to higher gas production in the coming months.
The attacks also struck oil storage and loading facilities in Tehran. On March 6 or 7, he said, Tehran’s oil depots were attacked again, including loading facilities, while another oil depot in Alborz province was hit.
The attacks threatened fuel supplies to northern provinces, Paknejad said, prompting the ministry to transfer part of its logistics capacity from southern areas to the north and to Tehran.
“The main goal of the enemy was to create such disruptions,” he said. “However, we immediately held emergency meetings and defined frameworks for crisis management so that the least possible disruption would occur in fuel supply to Tehran and the northern provinces.”
After several days, he said, the situation stabilized and fuel distribution in northern Iran was managed effectively.
The ministry had already been dealing with pressure on strategic fuel reserves when Paknejad took office in September 2024.
“One of the first issues that I pursued seriously was the status of the country’s fuel reserves,” he said, recalling his first meetings with senior ministry officials.
Initial reports on gasoline and power-plant diesel reserves were worrying, he said. Gasoline demand normally rises in September because of increased travel, while diesel demand at power plants can rise during the winter as gas supplies are diverted toward households and commercial consumers.
Paknejad said he reported the situation to President Masoud Pezeshkian within days, presenting figures on the country’s reserves.
“After presenting the programs, he regularly followed up on the progress of the issue every three to four days,” Paknejad said.
During the six-month period from September through February and March, technical teams focused on implementing the plans, he said.
Despite attacks on fuel storage facilities and a surge in gasoline consumption during the first days of the 12-day war, Tehran did not face a serious fuel shortage.
Gasoline consumption approached 200 million liters per day during the initial days, he said, while attacks on fuel reserves and storage facilities added pressure to the system.
Despite the sharp increase in demand and damage to gasoline storage and depots, “the fuel sector in Tehran did not face a serious problem,” Paknejad said.
The gas network also avoided shortages despite strikes on the Fajr Jam and South Pars Phase 14 facilities, he said.
After the 12-day war, the ministry continued development projects alongside crisis management, including a plan designed to increase crude oil production by 250,000 barrels per day.
“Fortunately, in the period after the 12-day war, we obtained all the necessary approvals and put the plan into implementation,” Paknejad said.
About 70,000 to 80,000 barrels per day of the planned additional capacity has so far been realized, he said.
Over the two years of the 14th administration, the volume of projects completed has been more than twice that of the preceding period, Paknejad said.
Production capacity from shared oil fields has also risen by more than 300,000 barrels per day, he said, while efforts have continued to compensate for lost capacity and accelerate major development projects.
One of the key projects is the development of the Azadegan oil field, which Paknejad said should be managed as a single integrated field encompassing North and South Azadegan.
“We believe Azadegan should be managed in an integrated manner ... because in reality it is one reservoir and one field, and separating it into two separate projects was incorrect,” he said.
Paknejad also pointed to the long-term challenge posed by declining pressure at the South Pars gas field, saying a pressure-boosting contract has been finalized as an initial step toward beginning implementation.
“The decline in pressure in South Pars directly means a decline in production from this field,” he said, adding that the problem will compound existing imbalances in the country’s energy system.
Drilling projects inside the South Pars field began in 2025, with more than 30 wells planned under several contracts. Some of the completed wells have already contributed significantly to higher gas production, he said.
The government has also collected about 11.5 million cubic meters per day of flare gas since taking office through various projects, Paknejad said.
Another major achievement, he said, was the discovery of about 17 trillion cubic feet of new in-place gas in the Pazan and Takht fields in the southern Fars region.
Iran has also moved from being a diesel importer to having a surplus, Paknejad said.
“Until early 2025, the country, like gasoline, was also an importer in the diesel sector,” he said. “However, through technical measures at refineries and increasing refinery feedstock, I am pleased to announce that we have not imported diesel for several months.”
Diesel stocks for power plants are now higher than at the same time last year, while production has also generated a surplus, he said.
“We have a surplus of production,” Paknejad said, adding that Iran had agreed with the minister of a neighboring country to export part of the surplus.
“We hope that by taking appropriate measures, we will soon reach a point in gasoline as well where we no longer need imports,” he said.