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Sanctions Will Only Harm Western Countries |
The
first national congress on outlook of oil industry for 2025 was held on the
sidelines of the 16th International Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals Exhibition.
The event was attended by the parliament speaker, members of parliament, oil
minister and his deputies.
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By allocating suitable budget, Majlis deputies are finding new ways to
finance oil industry projects
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First,
the (former) minister of petroleum, Massoud Mirkazemi took to the podium to
talk about the important role of Iran's energy resources.
Addressing the congress, he added that Western countries imposed sanctions to
limit Iran's activities and in addition to forbidding gasoline sales, they
have also sanctioned investment in Iran's oil industry.
"Our
energy exports are mostly to East Asia…. Creating imbalance in Iran's foreign
exchange revenues is a policy followed by Western countries and, at present,
the balance sheet for gas sales is negative," he added.
Chairman
of the OPEC also noted that more than 50 percent of resources to run the
country come from oil sales and crude oil plays an undeniable role in national
economy. "Therefore, we must adopt a clear-cut national strategy to achieve
goals of the 20-Year Vision Plan," he added.
He stated
that a daily average of more than 4 million barrels of oil and 600 million cu.
m. of natural gas are produced in Iran on a daily basis.
Mirkazemi
said total production of oil, gas and condensates in Iran was equivalent to
about 8 million barrels of crude oil.
"Out of
that figure, 5.2 million barrels are exported and the rest in consumed in the
country," he said.
The
minister added that Iran's oil and gas balance is currently negative and the
current trend in consumption will make it even more so in the future.
He opined
that in the absence of more investment in Iran's oil and gas industry and
since many oil fields are past their half-life, there are concerns about
continued production and export of crude oil.
Further
in the conference, Dr. Ali Larijani, the parliament speaker, addressed the
audience noting that defining a correct behavioral model is a requisite for
the modern energy market.
Pointing
to the role of energy in our country, he said that energy sector is a vital
sector in all countries and Iranian officials should pay special attention to
it due to its vital role in economy.
"As our
mastery of oil industry technology increases, influence of buying countries
reduces and we have allocated special investment to energy sector in the Fifth
Economic Development Plan," he said.
Larijani
expressed hope that this goal will be achieved through cooperation between the
Ministry of Petroleum and Majlis Energy Commission.
Hamid
Reza Katouziyan, head of Majlis Energy Commission, also addressed the congress
noting that Iran's oil output was declining by an annual average of
35,000-40,000 barrels.
"By
allocating suitable budget, Majlis deputies are finding new ways to finance
oil industry projects," he said.
Chairman
of Majlis Energy Commission stated that international sanctions have had
negative impact on Iran's oil and gas industry, but they have also encouraged
indigenization of modern technologies in that industry.
The MP called for correction of oil and gas contracts, saying, "There is high
sensitivity about Iran's national interests in oil and gas contracts and
changes to those contracts compared to other countries are necessary for that
purpose." |
