New NIGC Chief Appointed

Oil Minister Javad Owji has appointed Majid Chegeni as the managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company on Sunday.
With a master’s degree in industrial engineering, Chegeni has held different management positions since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, including the head of Oil Ministry’s Oil Derivatives Export Department, IRNA reported.
He will now replace Hassan Montazer-Torbati who headed NIGC for eight years during the two terms of former president, Hassan Rouhani.
According to Owji, expanding the gas network to small towns and villages in faraway areas in the southern region, laying gas pipelines and setting up compressor stations should be among NIGC’s priorities.
There are an estimated 10,000 rural districts (mostly in the underdeveloped Sistan-Baluchestan Province) that still lack piped gas.  
NIGC’s data indicate 18,000 villages have been connected to the national gas network since 2014. The state-run company says it has invested over $17 billion in natural gas infrastructure since 2013.