Iran says natural gas now available to 86% of villages

The Iranian Oil Ministry has updated figures related to the coverage of natural gas in the country saying some 86% of the population living in the countryside has now access to the energy source via a pipeline network that has spread to impoverished regions in Iran’s far south and east.

Figures released on Sunday by the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) showed that natural gas pipelines had reached 1,459 more villages in the country with the inauguration of series of NIGC projects that took place earlier this month to mark the 43^rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

Previous figures by the NIGC published late last year had put the penetration rate for natural gas in the Iranian villages at 84.8%.

The company said that the rate was now over 98% in 11 out of 31 Iranian provinces, adding that over 90% of the rural population in 13 other provinces, including many with cold climates, have currently access to natural gas.

Iran hails energy sector expansion in years since 1979 Revolution

Iranian government figures show the country saw a massive expansion in energy sector since Revolution.

The rate of access to natural gas for Iran’s urban population also improved in February to reach 99%, said the NIGC, adding that 13 more cities had been connected to the nationwide pipelines that is estimated to be more than 37,000 kilometers in length.

That comes as access to natural gas was only 0.1% for the rural population and 29.6% for people living in cities when the Revolution happened in Iran in 1979.

Iran has now connected nearly 65% of cities in two relatively poorer provinces in south and southeast where the population density is very low compared to other regions in the country.

Natural gas usage in the Iranian household and commercial sectors reached an all-time record of nearly 700 million cubic meters on cold winter days in late January.

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