TEHRAN - Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said the Iranian energy sector has reached outstanding achievements despite all geostrategic challenges, Shana reported.

Addressing the 22nd annual ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which was held through video conference on Thursday, Zanganeh noted that the unfair U.S. sanctions have barred Iran’s access to billions of dollars in oil revenues.

Zanganeh stated that the withdrawal of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the illegal imposition of unilateral economic sanctions on Iran was nothing but bullying against this country and the international community, adding: “U.S. sanctions on Iran violate the specific policies of many countries in the international community but they cannot do anything about it only because the U.S. is dominating the global financial and banking system.”

The unilateral withdrawal of the United States from many treaties and agreements, such as the JCPOA, which was the result of years of multilateral negotiations, all reflect a paradigm shift in international relations, he said.

"Despite all these challenges, we have made significant progress in the energy sector; by relying on our human resources, technology and investment, we have achieved the sustainable production of one billion cubic meters of gas per day,” he stressed.

The official noted that over 95 percent of the country's 80 million population have access to natural gas through pipelines in their houses, and the oil and petrochemical industries have made great strides in domestic technology in the production chain.

He further underlined the significant role that the GECF is playing in managing the global gas market and said: "Iran, as one of the founders of GECF, is proud to see that the forum is strong, efficient and credible.”

All of this has happened in less than two decades since May 2001; GECF has taken great steps to pave the way for specialized and purposeful dialogue among gas producing and consuming countries, institutions, and international organizations, Zanganeh added.

Elsewhere in his remarks Zanganeh mentioned the upward trend of natural gas consumption across the world and said the long-term forecasts for natural gas demand indicate that by 2050, the share of natural gas in the global energy basket will increase from the current 23 percent to 28 percent.

However, the share is not enough to help achieve the global goals of sustainable development and climate change, especially over a long period of 30 years. As suggested before, for gas to achieve a 30 percent share in the world energy basket by 2050, the GECF should seek new approaches to induce global gas value, he added.

The 22nd annual ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) was launched on Thursday in Doha, the State of Qatar.

EF/MA