NIGC Expands Reach in West Azarbaijan

EghtesadOnline: Natural gas supply to West Azarbaijan Province is expanding and 11 more small towns and villages are now linked to the national grid, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company said.

News ID: ۷۴۷۴۴۴

28 May 2019

“Almost 310 villages (out of 3,200) in the province had access to natural gas up until 2013. The number has now increased to 1081, accounting for 66% of the villages,” Hassan Montazer-Torbati was quoted as saying by the NIGC public relations office.

He said close to $4.5 million has been allocated for connecting 200 townships and 500 villages in the northwestern province to the network by the yearend.

“When completed, over 80% of the rural areas in the province” will have access to piped gas, according to Financial Tribune.

The province covers 40,000 km². It has a population of 3.3 million, a third of which lives on the outskirts of cities and in rural areas. The number of cities in the province is 43 of which 41 have access to the clean fuel.

The climate of the province is largely influenced by the rainy winds blowing from the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Cold northern winds impact the province during winters with heavy snowfall.

With the mercury dropping to below freezing conditions, supplying gas to households for heating is a crucial task.

Iran holds the world’s second largest gas reserves after Russia and the clean fossil fuel is its single biggest source of energy. The country produces over 880 million cubic meters of gas per day and demand is increasing.