Iran lost about 95 million cubic metres of gas production due to infrastructure damage caused by its war with the US and Israel, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has said.
Mr Paknejad said the lost production would be restored by the end of September as authorities worked with contractors to rebuild damaged facilities, the oil ministry's Shana news service reported.
Some gas processing facilities in Asaluyeh, in Bushehr province, were damaged but this was “largely offset by using capacity at other refineries”, the minister said in a meeting with the Iranian Parliament’s Energy Committee.
Reconstruction of the four damaged refineries is “proceeding simultaneously and at an accelerated pace”, Mr Paknejad said.
“Debris removal, the first stage of the work, has been completed, while an implementation framework has been established and contractors have begun operations,” he said. “Reconstruction is expected to be completed ahead of schedule, allowing the full lost capacity to return to the gas production network.”
He noted, however, that some output would remain unavailable during winter, and encouraged optimising gas supply and consumption to avoid disruption to services.
Public co-operation, Mr Paknejad said, was “critical”, and consumers’ efforts to manage use “would provide significant help in navigating the challenges ahead”.
The estimates of the output losses and the timeline for their return were provided by the state-owned National Iranian Gas Company.
The energy committee's chairman, Mousa Ahmadi, called for “smarter” use of energy resources. He added that increasing energy efficiency in industrial units was a priority.
He also urged the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade to boost plans to modernise production lines to improve energy efficiency.
Mr Ahmadi said a significant share of industrial facilities still operated with outdated, energy-intensive equipment, making faster modernisation and technological upgrades essential, Shana reported on Monday.
The war has caused significant damage to Iran, as US and Israeli forces have repeatedly targeted vital infrastructure, including logistics, power grids and, critically, energy facilities.
Iran is among the leading gas-producing and gas-consuming countries, making the sector important to its economy and society.
Natural gas has become an increasingly popular option for electricity generation in many countries due to increased availability and fewer carbon dioxide emissions, according to the International Energy Agency.
Gas power plants can also be turned on and off relatively easily, which gives greater flexibility to deal with demand peaks or low supply from other sources, the IEA added.
