Javad Owji, the Iranian regime’s Minister of Oil, claimed during a meeting of gas-exporting countries in Algeria that in the next five years, with a $70 billion investment, Iran’s daily gas production would increase from the current approximately 1.07 billion cubic meters to 1.3 billion cubic meters.
His statements on March 3 regarding producing over 1 billion cubic meters of gas come in contrast to his previous statement the day before, where he mentioned the country’s total gas production in the entire year of 2022 as 240 billion cubic meters, equivalent to a daily production of 675 million cubic meters. This figure aligns with international and the regime’s official statistics.
Additionally, a document from the National Gas Company of Iran showed that the total gas delivered to the country’s gas network from March 21 to July 23, 2023, was approximately 642 million cubic meters per day. Therefore, Owji has declared the country’s gas production level to be 42 percent higher than the actual figures.
Reuters also reported on Owji’s claims, stating that Iran is expected to face a daily gas deficit of 300 million cubic meters in the coming years.
Currently, Iran’s average daily gas deficit is around 150 million cubic meters, but this figure doubles in winter.
Owji’s claim of a $70 billion investment comes at a time when Iran’s average annual investment in the country’s oil and gas fields in recent years has been only $3 billion.
Official statistics from the Ministry of Economy also indicate that the accumulated debt of the National Iranian Oil Company, responsible for investing in oil and gas fields, reached an astronomical amount of 16,830 trillion rials (approximately $28 billion) by 2021.
This figure is calculated based on today’s dollar exchange rate, whereas the dollar’s price in 2021 was much lower than this amount.
Previous reports had highlighted the increasing debt of the National Iranian Oil Company, exceeding $80 billion, making it the most indebted government entity.
Owji’s assertion of production growth is questionable as the Iranian sector of the South Pars gas field, which contributes 70 percent to the country’s gas production, has entered the second half of its life this year. The field’s pressure will drop by 7 atmospheres each year, resulting in a yearly reduction of 10 billion cubic meters in production.
In February 2024, the National Development Fund announced in a report that the country’s domestic gas demand would nearly double by the year 2041, reaching over 510 billion cubic meters annually. However, during the same period, the country’s gas production is expected to decrease by 25 percent, falling to less than 180 billion cubic meters, equivalent to less than 450 million cubic meters per day.
According to this report, the country’s gas production level in 2041 will only be able to meet “one-third” of domestic demand.
Owji, along with the regime’s President Ebrahim Raisi, traveled to Algeria to participate in the meeting of gas-exporting countries.
Owji also claimed that Iran’s annual gas production growth has been over 5 percent in recent years, contradicting official and international statistics that indicate Iran’s gas production growth in 2022 was only 1 percent, with no data yet available for 2023.
