Speaking on
Monday at a ceremony marking cooperation between NPC and Shiraz Petrochemical
and Pardis Petrochemical, Shakeri said the country’s energy intensity had
increased by about 40% over the past 13 years, despite policies aimed at
reducing it.
He referred
to the general policies on consumption-pattern reform issued in 2010 and
legislation adopted that year, under which energy intensity was supposed to be
halved over a 10-year period. However, by 2023, the target had not been
achieved and energy intensity had instead risen by about 40%, he said.
According to
Shakeri, the situation indicates that the country’s initial policies and
objectives were appropriate but had not been adequately implemented.
He cited the
two-year implementation of the “Nabz Energy” energy-saving campaign as an
encouraging sign of greater attention to consumption-pattern reform. He said
the country was about a decade behind its intended targets in this area.
Energy
intensity and production
Shakeri
stressed that reducing energy intensity should not be equated simply with
reducing energy consumption.
Energy
intensity represents the ratio of energy consumption to gross domestic product
(GDP), he said. Therefore, one way to reduce it is through energy efficiency
and conservation, while another is to generate greater economic activity and
production with the same amount of energy.
He identified
the petrochemical industry as a productive sector that contributes to
foreign-exchange earnings and GDP. When household and commercial gas
consumption rises during the cold season and restrictions are subsequently
imposed on industries, including petrochemicals, part of the GDP that could
contribute to lowering energy intensity is lost, he said.
Shakeri said
broader public participation in the Nabz Energy campaign could help increase
GDP and generate greater economic benefits, adding that the media should
explain that reducing consumption in non-productive sectors can free energy for
productive activities.
“The energy
released from non-productive sectors should be allocated to sectors capable of
generating economic activity and production,” he said.
He added that
the government’s energy-management policy emphasizes conservation, consumption
management and public participation to ensure the energy required for continued
industrial production.
Petrochemical
industry reports energy savings
Shakeri said
more than 75% of petrochemical production processes currently comply with high
energy-consumption standards.
Although he
described the figure as significant, he said the industry should not be
satisfied with anything below full compliance and expressed hope that the
remaining 25% would also be brought into the optimization process.
Energy-efficiency
projects in the petrochemical industry over the past four years have resulted
in savings of about 1.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas, he said.
He also said
petrochemical companies had entered the renewable-energy sector, with 680 MW of
solar power capacity brought into operation and a further 200 MW expected to
come on stream by the end of the year.
Shakeri said
the industry’s efforts reflected a growing understanding of the value of
energy, which he said depended not only on its price but also on its
availability and the ability to secure supplies when needed.
“Continued
production in the petrochemical industry depends on a continuous flow of
energy,” he said, adding that petrochemical producers understood that sustained
production was impossible without reliable energy supplies.
He thanked
Shiraz Petrochemical and Pardis Petrochemical for joining the Nabz Energy
campaign this year and called on other companies to participate.
Lower gas
availability expected
Shakeri said
the damage caused by the war meant less natural gas would be available for
consumers this year.
He called for
broader participation in the Nabz Energy campaign so that available gas could
be allocated more efficiently and the economic impact of supply restrictions
could be reduced.
He added that
efforts by the National Iranian Oil Company and National Iranian Gas Company
had restored part of the capacity lost in recent months.
Petroleum
Minister Mohsen Paknejad had been pursuing the reconstruction and restoration
of damaged capacity since the first day of the war, Shakeri said, expressing
hope that all lost capacity, including damaged petrochemical facilities and
infrastructure, would return to operation as soon as possible.
Petrochemicals
and the economy
Shakeri said
attacks on energy and petrochemical facilities demonstrated the importance of
the industry to Iran’s economy.
“Even if the
military war has officially ended, the economic war continues, and the
petrochemical industry is now on the front line of the economic war,” he said.
He
highlighted the presence of petrochemical products in everyday life and said
foreign-exchange earnings from the industry were used to help finance
medicines, essential goods and other national needs.
Shakeri also
pointed to the ownership of a number of petrochemical companies by pension
funds or their partial ownership by such funds, saying continued operation of
the industry therefore affects pensioners and other parts of society.
He said the
industry’s stakeholders extended far beyond its 75 companies, with millions of
people directly or indirectly connected to and affected by petrochemical
activity.
“Energy
optimization is service to the country”
Shakeri
called on all consumers to participate in energy-efficiency efforts so that
more energy could be made available to productive and industrial sectors.
Referring to
the country’s current circumstances, he said people could contribute to the
national energy-efficiency campaign just as they had stood together in defense
of the country.
“I believe
participation in energy optimization is ‘service to the country,’” Shakeri
said, explaining that reducing unnecessary consumption and freeing energy for
production would allow individuals to contribute to maintaining economic
activity.
He said the
Nabz Energy campaign had continued for two years and benefited different
groups. According to Shakeri, part of the resulting resources had been directed
toward social initiatives such as wheelchairs, school supplies and
environmental support, while about 1 billion cubic meters of additional gas had
been made available to the petrochemical industry last year, helping it
maintain production.
Shakeri
thanked the organizers of the Nabz Energy campaign, the National Iranian Gas
Company, the Petroleum Ministry’s Planning Department and Petroleum Minister
Paknejad, expressing hope that efforts to optimize consumption and allocate
energy more effectively to productive sectors would deliver results.
At the event,
Mohammad Ali Soleimani, a board member of Pardis Petrochemical, said the
company’s continued participation in the Nabz Energy campaign reflected the
industry’s social and environmental responsibilities.
Babak
Pourkia, CEO of Shiraz Petrochemical, said the company’s participation in the
campaign could help protect the environment, sustain production, manage the gas
imbalance during the second half of the year and preserve industrial production
capacity.