TEHRAN – Oil fields in flood-stricken regions of Khuzestan Province in southwestern Iran are once again operational and the production is back to normal, IRNA reported on Sunday.

According to the Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, the heavy rainfalls started in mid-March at the mentioned regions caused the oil facilities over 1 trillion rials (over $238 million) in damage.

Destruction of pipelines and roads as well as closing up the wells in order to prevent the oil spill into the water were some of the damages caused by the devastating floods.

According to Ahmad Mohammadi, the managing director of National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC), despite the heavy floods there had been no problem with production in any of the fields, however in order to protect the environment some wells were closed off.

Exceptional rainfalls since March 19 have flooded some 1,900 cities and villages across Iran, claiming over 70 lives and causing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to Iranian water, oil, construction and agriculture infrastructures. 

Floods have affected several provinces in the north and west of the country including, Khuzestan, Golestan, Mazandaran, and Lorestan.
EF/MA