Saman Ghodousi, the ministry’s director-general of public relations
and spokesman, said AI should be used as a supporting tool to streamline
information processes, manage data and improve the quality of media output
across the oil industry.
Speaking at an event honoring oil-industry media professionals at the
Research Institute of Petroleum Industry on Monday, Ghodousi said the ministry
would expand training programs to help public-relations staff use AI
effectively and responsibly.
“Artificial intelligence should be used as a supporting tool for
making the content-production process smarter and improving the quality of
information,” Ghodousi said, according to Shana, the Petroleum Ministry’s news
agency.
He also called for a move away from traditional approaches to news
production, saying oil-industry media units face gaps in identifying newsworthy
subjects and developing stories proactively.
A more analytical approach to identifying topics, rather than relying
primarily on conventional methods, is needed, he said.
Ghodousi said modern news production should also move beyond written
reports, with media professionals developing skills across a broader range of
formats and content types.
New public-relations framework
The ministry is also preparing to introduce a new framework for
organizing public-relations operations across the oil industry.
Ghodousi said an executive regulation governing public-relations
activities has been prepared and will soon be implemented throughout the
industry.
He pointed to Petroleum Minister Mohsen Paknejad’s visit to Shana news
agency around Journalists’ Day as a signal of the strategic importance attached
to public relations and media by the ministry’s senior management.
Greater coordination between oil-industry public-relations departments
and media organizations will be needed to remove existing obstacles and improve
the quality and effectiveness of information about the sector, Ghodousi said.