Iran (IMNA) - He made the declaration in response to a recent meeting between the president and the members of his cabinet and the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who pressed on increasing investments in order to increase oil production.
According to the minister, investments made in unfinished projects over the previous two years are what led to the 40 percent increase in oil production capacity.
Since the 13th (current) government assumed office, an increase in investment has been a major problem for oil projects, according to Owji, who also said that the Oil Ministry has prioritized its projects and given high priority to new initiatives that promote economic growth.
"The country's crude oil production stood at 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) when I took over as oil minister, but the figure has now reached 3.1 million to 3.4 million bpd," Owji was quoted as saying by the oil ministry's press agency, SHANA.
According to the minister, unfinished gas projects, including phases 14 and 11, of the South Pars (SP) field were also given priority.
Owji regretted that the Phase 11 development project had been passed from one administration to another for 20 years and that the most recent action in this regard was a 4.8 billion-dollar agreement with the French company Total that was signed without a strong performance bond. Owji added that the company had only obtained information about the South Pars field before quitting.
SP Phase was launched by President Ebrahim Raeisi on Monday.
Compared to the volume produced during the same period the year before, the country's gas output increased by 40 million cubic meters in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (beginning March 21), according to the senior official.
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