Hassan Rouahni, who was speaking at a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), said oil has always exerted effects on foreign diplomacy within the framework of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries); “gas also follows a similar trend as oil,” he underlined.
The Iranian President touched upon the plan to export 200 million cubic meters of gas to neighboring countries saying that LNG exports have also been put on the agenda in order to cover a larger area.
Rouhani said energy and development are closely interrelated hence sanctions on Iran’s oil exports; “exports of petroleum products affect power, economy as well as people’s lives.”
The official recalled the restrictions on gasoline imports during sanction years asserting that self-sufficiency in oil and oil products, especially gasoline and diesel, remains very important and vital for the country.
Further emphasizing the need for self-sufficiency in production and supply of different energy carriers, Iran’s President commented “our import demands led some friend and neighbor countries to exploit different tricks in order to escalate gas prices.”
“since the advent of the Islamic Revolution, significant advancements have been made in the area gas production inside the country,” highlighted the official saying “gas coverage in Iran is supposed to reach 95 percent in the coming year as the gas industry has been taking important steps towards welfare and comfort of people even in remote areas.”
President Rouhani also touched upon the real essence of Islamic Revolution saying “revolution means freedom of nation, freedom of thought, freedom of expression as well as freedom of criticism.”
“Today in the virtual space, people freely express their taste, will and opinion on the government and its programs which reveals the beauty of the Islamic Revolution,” he continued stressing “accordingly, the government insisted that social networks should not be banned inside the country to provide people with the opportunity to share their views.”
“Staying independent and self-sufficient in oil and gas arenas remains as another aspect of revolutionary spirit,” he emphasized.
President Rouhani added that Iranian oil and gas officials have taken effective measures in reforming fuel consumption and using clean fuel as share of liquid gas in power plants has experienced a downward trend in recent years.
The official defined security as comfort and peace of the people as well as clean and healthy air; “over three years in the incumbent government, many state enterprises and power plants have replaced clean fuel gas with fuel oil and gas oil.”
Hassan Rouhani also urged that full capacities need to be exploited in joint fields in order to reach maximum production; “also, new technologies should be used in recycling since any delay in this regard would be irreversible and costly.”
He reported that all South Pars phases will be completed and implemented by the coming year concluding “since the incumbent government took office, operation of Phases 12, 15, 16 and 17 added 140 million cubic meters to the country’s gas production capacity while the implementation of Phases 18, 19, 20 and 22 in the current year will add another 140 million cubic meters to the overall output.”
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