NIGC Expanding Gas Outreach

An estimated $2 billion in projects are underway to expand the natural gas network to 46 small towns and 5,000 villages by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2018), an official at the National Iranian Gas Company said. "Upon the completion of plans, close to 900,000 new gas subscribers will join the gas grid," Saeed Momeni was quoted as saying by IRNA on Sunday. Asked about methods other than laying pipelines, the official added that plans are underway to provide some towns in Khuzestan and Mazandaran provinces with compressed natural gas by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2018). He did not elaborate. Momeni stressed that another priority of the Oil Ministry and National Iranian Gas Company is to develop infrastructure for supplying gas as feedstock to major industries and facilitate the production of goods with higher value added. Nearly 90% of the country have access to clean fossil fuel and the figure is expected to reach 97% upon the completion of major gas projects in the next few years, government officials have said.