Owji made the
remarks at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, which is being held at Tehran’s
permanent fairgrounds from May 17 to 20.
The exhibition,
which is one of the largest oil and gas events in West Asia and the world,
showcases the latest achievements and innovations in the energy sector and
provides a platform for business networking and cooperation.
The opening
ceremony was attended by Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, Russian
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, and several other high-ranking officials
and industry representatives.
Owji welcomed the
domestic and foreign guests and thanked them for their participation in the
exhibition. He said that Iran Oil Show is more than a common exhibition, as it
serves as a focal point for cooperation among all the actors in the oil
industry.
He said that in this
exhibition, in addition to presenting the capabilities and achievements of oil
industry activists, including contractors, investors, manufacturers,
knowledge-based companies, universities, operating companies and others in the
upstream and downstream sectors of the oil industry, the needs and challenges
of each sector are presented and the grounds are prepared for negotiation and
commercial cooperation in this industry.
According to Mr. Owji,
some 200 companies from 13 countries are participating in this year's
exhibition. The countries include Russia, China, Belarus, Germany, Austria,
Italy, France, Spain, India, UAE, Oman and Turkey.
He said that the
100 percent increase in the presence of foreign companies in this exhibition
shows that it is more welcomed every year.
Owji also
referred to the presence of Russian companies and Novak in this international
event. He said that Iran has extensive cooperation with Russian companies and
Novak's presence shows the depth of cooperation between the two countries in
the field of oil and gas.
He added that a
large conference of B2B meetings between Iranian and Russian companies will be
held on the sidelines of this exhibition.
Owji said that
this year's exhibition slogan is "Oil Industry; Technological Production,
Optimal Consumption", which is inspired by the policies announced by
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi and is in
line with the most important issues and priorities of the oil industry.
He said that Iran
has the highest level of combined oil and gas reserves in the world. He
announced that Iran's recoverable crude oil reserves are 154 billion barrels
and its natural gas reserves are 33 trillion cubic meters. He said that despite
the sanctions imposed on Iran's oil and gas industry, Iran has made great
progress in developing its oil and gas industry.
He said Iran’s current crude oil output has reached 3
million barrels per day while its natural gas output has crossed a billion
cubic meters per day. In the meantime, Iran's refining capacity has reached 2.4
million barrels per day and petrochemical production capacity has reached 95
million tons per year.
He added that
Iran plans to increase its oil production and exports in the near future and to
attract more foreign investment and technology to its energy projects.
Owji said that
about $12 billion worth of semi-finished oil projects have been inaugurated in
the past year, adding that all these projects have had a direct impact on
increasing production capacity in the country.
He said that some
of these projects include very strategic and important projects such as some of
the development projects of oil and gas fields, especially joint fields such as
South Pars Phase 11, Azadegan South Phase 1, more than 12 petrochemical
projects such as propylene, olefin and refining projects such as Isfahan
refinery quality improvement project, inauguration of Adish South refinery
project for collecting flare gases from West Karun fields.
He also mentioned
gas supply to industries and cities across the country especially strengthening
national gas pipeline network.
Owji stressed
that a very important point about these projects is that domestic companies
have supplied more than 80 percent of equipment and goods for these projects.
He emphasized
that today we proudly announce that we are self-sufficient in almost all
sectors of oil industry. He said that along with this increase in production;
we have also increased exports.
He said that
crude oil and gas condensate exports have doubled since Raisi took office. He
said that according to statistics from Central Bank of Iran (CBI), growth of
economy in oil and gas sector has been highest among different sectors of
economy.