Trading in different energy carriers at Iran Energy Exchange has generated foreign currency income worth $519 million for the country in about seven months, the IRENEX trade data compiled by the Economic Reviews Department of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture show.
The revenue has been earned through trading 1.1 million tons of commodities in the international ring of IRENEX from the beginning of the current fiscal year (started March 21) till Oct. 14, according to data published on TCCIM’s website.
Compared with the corresponding period of last year, the figures indicate a two-and-a-half-fold increase in trade volume and a threefold rise in value.
Transactions mainly involved diesel, gasoline, liquefied natural gas, raffinate, heavy crude oil, solvent 402 (white spirit), solvent 503, heavy oil cut and heavy naphtha, among other things.
Diesel and gasoline had the lion’s share of trading, accounting for 43% and 30% respectively.
During the period under review, 0.47 million tons of diesel worth $225 million were traded at IRENEX with an average price of $478 per ton.
Gasoline export via IRENEX was launched in late July. During the more than three-month period, the key commodity generated $154 million in foreign currency.
So far, 256,000 tons of gasoline have been exported to neighboring countries at an average rate of $602 per ton.
Likewise, 334.5 tons of liquefied natural gas worth $98 million were sold via the energy bourse at an average rate of $293.1 per ton, accounting for 18.9% of all transactions.
The offers were made by 16 oil, refineries and petrochemical companies, with the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company holding the biggest share.
The state-owned company earned $379 million in foreign exchange revenues during the period, accounting for 73% of the total transactions.
This was followed by Persian Gulf Star Oil Company and Abadan Oil Refining Company with a trade value of $46.5 million and $22.1 million, respectively.
Gasoline Prospects
The initiative to trade gasoline in IRENEX was kicked off after oil officials announced Iran’s gasoline production has surpassed domestic production and the nation has reached self-sufficiency in producing this strategic fuel.
Iran is daily producing 15 million liters of gasoline over and above domestic demand. Average daily domestic gasoline consumption is around 92 million liters.
For almost four decades, Iran was a fuel importer, especially of gasoline, because local refiners could not meet growing demand.
Managing Director of IRENEX Ali Hosseini said earlier in the month that selling gasoline via the energy bourse generates an average of $200 million a week.
“Over the past seven weeks, more than 100,000 tons of gasoline were bought by buyers,” he said.
The fuel has so far been exported to neighbors, namely Afghanistan, Iraqi Kurdistan and the Republic of Armenia.
“The initiative is planned to be extended to other destinations,” Hosseini said.
