TEHRAN – Oil minister Mohsen Paknejad said Wednesday that reconstruction of oil industry facilities damaged in the third imposed war is progressing well, with some lost capacity expected to come back online by the end of the year and the rest by the first half of next year.
Paknejad said the rebuilding of four gas refineries and liquid fuel storage and loading facilities in Tehran that were hit and damaged during the conflict is proceeding very favorably.
He said the executive mechanisms for repairing the damaged facilities have been finalized, adding that the implementation process is expected to restore part of the lost capacity by year’s end, after the cold season passes, with the remainder to follow in the first half of next year.
A large workforce is currently engaged in the reconstruction effort, the minister said, and progress can be tracked on a weekly basis.
As he outlined the state of Iran’s energy infrastructure, Paknejad said attacks on gas facilities had reduced the country’s gas processing capacity by about 230 million cubic meters per day. So far, about 100 million cubic meters per day of that capacity has been offset by using available capacity at other gas processing plants.
He said measures have been taken to ensure a stable supply of fuel to power plants, adding that liquid fuel stocks, particularly diesel, are expected to reach about 3.5 billion liters by the beginning of November.
Paknejad said sufficient capacity has also been allocated to supply fuel oil to power plants, allowing them to increase their use of liquid fuels as gas deliveries decline and helping prevent electricity blackouts.
The minister also pointed to higher domestic production of liquid fuels, particularly diesel. Iran was still importing diesel as recently as mid-last year, he said, but the country has not imported diesel for some time.
According to Paknejad, the increase in diesel production is partly attributable to higher crude oil feedstock deliveries to refineries and partly to changes in refinery processing operations. Both factors have contributed to higher liquid fuel output.
Looking ahead, Paknejad expressed hope that the Persian Gulf Star Refinery expansion will come onstream by the end of the year. He said the project could make a significant contribution to balancing domestic supply and demand for gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products.
Paknejad thanked the public for their cooperation in helping the country pass through the cold season smoothly and called for continued efforts to optimize consumption of energy carriers, including natural gas, gasoline and electricity.