Iranians used an average of 101 million liters per day of gasoline between March and June, up 16% compared with the corresponding period of last fiscal year, deputy manager for planning at the National Iranian Oil Production and Distribution Company said.
“Average daily consumption last year stood at 87 million liters, but it has now exceeded 100 million liters and it is expected to grow further,” Afshin Mahdavi was also quoted as saying by ISNA.
Gasoline consumption hit a daily record of 131 million liters per day on March 19, he added.
The official noted that over the past two years, because of Covid-19 and related travel restrictions, gasoline consumption had been subdued, but with the improvement in Covid-19 situation and travel resumption, gasoline consumption has increased.
Domestic demand has rebounded from pandemic lows and is rising steadily since Iran lifted most of its Covid-19 restrictions late last year, to the point that oil officials warned that the country could become a net importer of gasoline and gasoil within two to three years if domestic consumption continues to rise at current rates.
According to Jalil Salari, director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company, NIORDC has stopped exporting fuel to meet domestic gasoline demand.
“Development projects in Lavan Refinery are complete and the facility can now convert naphtha into gasoline with the help of domestically-produced catalysts. The refinery’s naphtha was exported, but now that the conversion unit is complete and the catalyst is available, exports are halted and naphtha is converted to gasoline,” he said.
The supply of gasoline, diesel and other oil derivatives across the country is continuing normally and there are no worries in this regard. All refineries are up and running and petroleum byproducts have been transferred to fuel depots in major cities as usual.
International Average
Per capita gasoline consumption in Iran, with a population of 83 million, is above the international average.
Based on data from the Oil Ministry and NIOC, daily consumption of gasoline in Iran has surpassed 85 million liters, i.e., 10 times more than Turkey with almost the same population.
Drawing a parallel between Iran and more populated countries like China, the NIOC data revealed that close to 450 million liters of gasoline are burnt in China daily and this is while its population is over 1.5 billion, meaning gasoline consumption in Iran is three times greater than that of China.
“Gasoline consumption between 2011 and 2017 shot up by 50% that [regretfully] was big enough to be registered in the Guinness World Record,” Salari said.
"Such prohibitive consumption is simply not proportional to the number of cars in the country and is worthy of concern."
Iranians used 73 million liters of gasoline per day in 2015, which rose by 8% to 80 ml/d in 2016.
Consumption continued upwards in 2017, when the figure amounted to 88 ml/d and NIORDC statistics show that in 2018, the level exceeded 95 ml/d or 1.18 liters per capita.
The figure reached 105 ml/d in 2019, but fell remarkably in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, now that limitations have been removed, demand is returning to the pre-pandemic levels.
NIORDC has predicted gasoline consumption to exceed 130 ml/d by 2024, in which case 10 million liters of fuel have to be imported, as the company’s maximum production level is 120 ml/d.
It is reported that 13 million liters of gasoline in the capital city and 17 million liters in the province are consumed daily. In fact, residents of Tehran Province consume more gas than Poland, with its 40 million population and Turkey’s 80 million.
This is while vehicle ownership per capita in Iran is 3-3.5 per 10 people, while in Turkey it is more than 5 per 10 persons.
