Winter is coming, and like every year, the issue of reducing gas consumption in the domestic sector and the challenge of energy imbalance is once again highlighted. Energy expert Hossein Mirafazli warns that excessive dependence on gas for home heating is a strategic mistake that has faced the country with an energy imbalance crisis during the cold season. He emphasizes the need to establish a Ministry of Energy, promote incentive schemes, and utilize modern technologies to reduce gas consumption.

The Seventh Development Plan aims to prevent daily waste of 1.285 million barrels (US) of crude oil equivalent from the energy produced in the country, equivalent to more than 150 million cubic meters of gas; an action that has provided an attractive market and a valuable opportunity for the presence of private sector companies in the field of engineering and technology.

Emphasizing the need for convergence in solving the energy imbalance, an official official said: Holdings and petrochemical companies should use all available capacities to establish an energy management system.

The more than two-decade-old contract to export 10 billion cubic meters of Iranian gas annually to Turkey expires in mid-2026, but unlike in the past, there is no sign of Ankara's willingness to extend it this time. This is an issue that experts see as not only a threat to the country's gas revenue, but also a danger to Iran's geopolitical position in the region.

Hassan Moradi, an energy expert, believes that the end of Iran's gas export contract to Turkey in 2026 could have economic and security consequences for the country. He emphasizes that Iran must use energy diplomacy and a smart approach to persuade Turkey to extend gas cooperation.

In recent years, the unprecedented increase in demand intensity and the growing and accumulating imbalance between production and consumption have become a major and challenging problem in the areas of economy and national security, placing the downstream sector of the oil industry under unprecedented pressure.

Ali Asghar Rajabi, Director of Energy and Carbon at the National Iranian Gas Company, said in a pre-session of the Energy Investment Conference: "Saving energy consumption can bring Iran into the global carbon market and become a tool for attracting private sector investment."

The CEO of the National Iranian Gas Company emphasized that the dependence of about 73 to 74 percent of the country's energy portfolio on natural gas is not seen anywhere else in the world, and said: "By increasing power plant efficiency, developing renewable energies, and increasing the efficiency of industrial equipment, the dependence of the country's energy portfolio can be gradually reduced."

An international affairs analyst said: "By strengthening energy cooperation between Iran and Russia, we can achieve the elimination of the country's energy imbalances in the winter."

A member of the Energy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly said: A meeting of the headquarters to eliminate imbalances on the issue of energy supply and winter fuel was held with the presence of the deputy ministers of oil and energy.