TEHRAN, Iran, Oct. 14
Trend:
Despite the outbreak of the coronavirus, the production of oil and gas in Iran did not stop even for a single day, Iranian Minister of Oil said Bijan Zangehen said, Trend reports via IRNA.
“If oil and gas are not produced, there wouldn't be electricity too," Zanganeh said during the ceremony of donating special respiratory aid to COVID-19 patients by the Ministry of Oil to hospitals in oil-rich regions of the country.
Zangeneh went on to note that the Ministry of Oil could not shutdown the islands, platforms and operational units amid the outbreak.
"We are trying to reduce the pressure on people," he said, adding that Iran's official structures are doing their best to assist with distribution of disinfectants among people.
Iranian oil officials believe that the ongoing exploration activities will be the mainstay of future oil production growth while increasing the country’s oil reserves is in itself a lever of power that can be used in trade bargaining and obtaining OPEC quotas.
Zanganeh announced in mid-July that Iran plans to increase its oil output capacity to take its share back from the market in case of the US sanctions termination.
“It’s true that our output is low because of sanctions, but things won’t stay the same,“ Zanganeh said at the time.