Mohsen Paknejad made the comments during a one-day visit to the energy
hubs of Assaluyeh and Jam, Shana reported.
Paknejad said he inspected the South Pars Phase 13A offshore platform,
which had been out of operation for nearly a decade after being struck by a
vessel. Structural problems at the platform have now been resolved by engineers
at Pars Oil and Gas Company, he said.
“Infield wells are currently being drilled and will gradually come on
stream, which will strengthen upstream gas production,” the minister added.
Paknejad also referred to the reopening of a damaged processing train
at the Fajr Jam gas refinery, which had been hit in June. The unit was returned
to service within six months by the National Iranian Gas Company and the
refinery’s workforce, he said, calling the achievement significant.
The restart has increased Iran’s gas processing capacity by around 13
million cubic metres per day, Paknejad said.
He added that reconstruction work on a damaged processing train at
South Pars Phase 14 was also progressing well from a technical and operational
standpoint and is expected to be completed within a short timeframe.
During the visit, Paknejad toured the Kangan petro-refinery complex, a
subsidiary of the Ahdaf Investment Company, and said the facility was operating
under favourable production conditions.
“While the complex is profitable and active, additional investment is
required,” he said. “We are focusing on removing investment barriers to address
existing challenges.”