Skip to main content

Iran's Petroleum Industry Welcomes Zanganeh's Return as Minister

The appointment of Bijan Namdar Zanganeh as petroleum minister brings hopes and expectations for overdue reforms.
Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh answers journalists' questions as he arrives in a hotel in Vienna January 29, 2005. OPEC oil ministers gather in Vienna for a meeting on January 30. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader  HPB/AA - RTRLRCL
Read in 

Bijan Namdar Zanganeh is known as the “sheikh of ministers” in Iran. Before 2005, he served a total of 22 years in ministererial positions, first as minister of construction jihad in Mir Hossein Mousavi’s government, then as minister of energy (water and power) in Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s Cabinet, and later as minister of petroleum in Mohammad Khatami’s administration. His departure from the ministry of petroleum in 2005 was accompanied by allegations by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the country was ruled by an “oil mafia,” an allegation that Ahmadinejad could not make stick in his eight years in office. 

The return of Zanganeh as petroleum minister under President Hassan Rouhani has been welcomed by industry players and experts alike after years of mismanagement under Ahmadinejad. When one looks at Zanganeh's past performance, one finds that he actually had important achievements during his previous term as petroleum minister (1997 to 2005): attracting foreign investors, especially European companies; expanding the gas sector and increasing the role of gas in the domestic energy basket (freeing up oil for export); enlarging the petrochemical sector; and developing local companies to become prime contractors in the upstream sector (OIEC, Petropars, Pedco, and so on).

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.