TEHRAN - New Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oji has outlined his plans for the Oil Ministry in the first official meeting with his deputies on Thursday, Shana reported.

Developing joint oil and gas fields, meeting winter gas and fuel needs, organizing human resources, maintaining production, supporting domestic production of equipment, strong energy diplomacy and comprehensive cooperation with neighboring countries in the field of oil and gas were among the most important programs that the oil minister is going to pursue during his tenure.

Addressing the meeting, the new minister expressed hope that with the efforts of the employees and managers of the oil and gas industry, he will be able to solve the challenges ahead and take effective steps towards the advancement of this industry.

He further mentioned his experiences in the industry, saying: “I am a member of the oil industry family, I have been educated in this field and I have worked in this field for 35 years and have experiences in both upstream and downstream sectors of the industry.”

Further in the meeting, the deputies of the Oil Minister presented reports on their performance in recent years.

Oji had previously released a comprehensive program for the development of the country’s oil and gas industry during his tenure.

The published plan consisted of five separate sections including an introduction, some documents related to the oil industry’s upstream sector, major challenges facing the oil industry, urgent measures to be taken in the oil industry, and finally strategic steps based on the industry priorities.

The official had underlined the establishment of strong diplomacy and bolstering international relations as a major priority for the Oil Ministry.

Paying special attention to diplomacy with a focus on trading oil, gas, petrochemical products, and export of technical and engineering services, interacting with neighboring countries to reduce tariffs and find suitable solutions are the major axis of his international agenda.

Moreover, Oji had said he will be deeply focused on expanding bilateral or multilateral agreements with target countries by tapping the capacities of international and regional organizations, including the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, etc.

The official is also cognizant of modifying the consumption pattern of gas and oil products using Articles 12 and 13 of the Law on Removing Barriers to Production.

Development and implementation of energy diplomacy document in cooperation with relevant institutions, maintaining and increasing Iran's status in OPEC, and expanding cooperation with neighboring countries, the Persian Gulf nations, and the Caspian Sea countries in the field of exploration, production, and joint venture capital are other areas that Oji’s team will be specially focused upon during his tenure as the Iranian Oil Minister under Ebrahim Raeisi’s administration.

Encouraging foreign investment for exports in the mid and downstream sectors and increasing the export of petroleum products to neighboring countries, as well as ensuring active support for boosting export of technology and engineering services of Iranian companies to neighboring countries are other areas of attention for the new minister.

EF/MA