Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is poised to nominate caretaker Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari for the prestigious Cabinet portfolio, senior presidential aide Ahmad Mousavi was quoted as saying in the Iranian media today.
The choice needs parliamentary approval, but Mousavi, presidential aide on legal and parliamentary affairs, said senior lawmakers were "positive" about Nozari heading the ministry, the state-run Iran newspaper reported.
"The president (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) will present acting Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari ... to parliament as his nominee for the job," Mousavi was quoted as saying.
Nozari, who now heads the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), was named as an interim minister after Ahmadinejad sacked Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh on 12 August. Lawmakers had rejected three other choices before Vaziri-Hamaneh was approved.
Some analysts saw the move as a bid by the president to stamp his control on an industry that is the source of most of Iran's revenues, a reuters report said.
Another Ahmadinejad aide said last week that Ahmadinejad had a "positive" view about Nozari.
Leading lawmaker Mousa Ghorbani said Nozari had a "considerable" chance on getting parliament's approval, the official IRNA news agency reported.
"The general atmosphere is positive on Nozari in parliament," Ghorbani said.
Ahmadinejad made oil central to his presidential campaign in 2005, pledging to distribute oil earnings more fairly, favour domestic over foreign investors and combat the oil "mafia" he said was running the industry.
Analysts say Iran's oil industry needs a big injection of foreign investment with accompanying expertise to meet targets to boost output beyond roughly 4 million barrels per day now.
© Upstream 2007
