Amin Nowrouzi Masir was appointed by Ramin Hatami, CEO of the National Iranian South Oilfields Company, to replace Ali Akbar Hafezi Nia at Gachsaran Oil and Gas Company; a change announced without any indication of plans to reform criticized practices.
No report has been published on the review of the performance of the previous management, nor have the contractual ambiguities been clarified, nor has there been an explanation about the independence of the new management from political affiliations. What has been announced is the departure of one corrupt manager, the arrival of another corrupt manager, and the usual appreciation for the previous official; ceremonies that are not enough to introduce it as a transformation.
The issue with Gachsaran Oil is not the name on the CEO's office door; the issue is the way a company is managed where contracts, job opportunities, and appointments should be under public scrutiny. Until these mechanisms are transparent, the change of CEO can remain a change of guard of the same limited arrangements.
During Hafezi Nia's management, Feydus published a report about renting a mobile separator device with a claimed monthly cost of 30 billion tomans; a report that questioned the necessity of this expense, the non-use of similar existing equipment, and the competence of the selected contractor.
The departure of the previous CEO does not replace answers. Where are the meeting minutes, technical evaluations, price determination basis, and contractor selection process? The oil company's money is not the personal credit of managers to remain silent about its expenditure and receive plaques of appreciation upon departure.
Meanwhile, "Petrochemical Companies" reported the annulment of two clauses in the job advertisement for Gachsaran Oil Company's corporate staff in the General Assembly of the Administrative Justice Court; the main issue is clear: the conditions for entering job opportunities at this company have faced legal objections. Such a history cannot be hidden behind the news of a new appointment.
Gachsaran Oil and Gas has always faced crises of managerial misconduct, corruption in contracts with contractors, and the heavy shadow of Tajgardoon's interference, the representative of this city in parliament.
Some media reports, quoting informed sources, have repeatedly spoken of Gholamreza Tajgardoon's pressure on Gachsaran Oil appointments. The specialized channel "Oil Thoughts" also claimed that the then-CEO faced expectations from the representative and his associates regarding appointments.
This issue is also seen in the appointment of Nowrouzi Masir, according to rumors, and this manager also has direct ties to the circle attributed to Tajgardoon and contractors who had control over most of the company's contracts and agreements during Hafezi Nia's tenure.
This sensitivity is not unprecedented. "Petrochemical Companies" previously criticized the recommendation and pressure attributed to Tajgardoon for appointing Masoud Keshavarz in the public relations of the National Iranian Oil Company. The Ministry of Oil must clarify how it protects the independence of managers against political recommendations and contractors' interests. A company with public resources is not a place for arrangements where a political patron introduces a manager and then contractual and employment decisions remain beyond effective oversight.
This appointment has created a wave of disappointment among the company's employees and workers who hoped that with Hafezi Nia's removal, some of the company's problems would be resolved, but the appointment of a new manager who, like Hafezi Nia, is affiliated with Tajgardoon, continues the same corrupt and loss-making practices. Thus, in reports from informed sources, company employees and workers believe that this change has brought one thief in place of another and that these changes are solely the result of Tajgardoon's decision and choice, who has reached this illegal influence like a godfather, deciding which manager has the right to sit in the Gachsaran Oil and Gas chair, and the changes are not for reform but only to create new opportunities for his circle of contractors to continue plundering the company's assets and shareholders' investments.
A representative who has used the opportunity of being in parliament to build an extensive corruption network in the province and continued influence in the companies of this region, and his name has repeatedly appeared in various cases of collusion, corruption, favoritism, and problematic contracts, but it seems his influence is so extensive that supervisory and judicial bodies are unable to deal with this network under his command.
