At least 25% of filling stations across the country are facing serious problems, as they do not have spare parts to repair old fuel nozzles, the head of Gasoline Station Owners Association said.
“The number of dilapidated fuel dispenser nozzles, which cannot be repaired, is increasing because of which long queues of cars are formed at pumps,” Homayoun Salehi was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
Most gas stations are operating at 70% of their capacity, he added.
Gas stations’ spare parts were imported from the US and Germany, and could be easily found at reasonable prices. Nonetheless, “now they can only be found at prohibitive prices and with difficulty”.
“Close to 1,000 old nozzles, for example, in southern provinces like Khuzestan are in need of parts that are not available in the domestic market.”
The situation is the same in other regions, as many pumps are either nearing obsolescence or have gone out of use since 2019 because the much-needed parts cannot be imported due to the US sanctions, GSOA said.
Referring to exorbitant costs (if the part can be found in the market), he noted that a pump plunger cost $160 in 2019, but the same thing is currently sold at $1,600.
Iran is not suffering from a lack of engineers who can design and produce nozzle parts; the problem is that the country does not have access to advanced knowhow about how to combine different elements and metals to produce superior alloys with anti-corrosion properties.
Salehi noted that the electronic fuel card system has been in use for more than 12 years but the system's hardware has not been updated, which can expose the card system to cyber-attacks.
“There are about 4,000 filling stations across the country and upgrading all the nozzles demands a huge investment,” he added.
According to Afshin Mahdavi, deputy manager for planning at the National Iranian Oil Production and Distribution Company, 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.
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, he added.
Per capita gasoline consumption in Iran, with a population of 83 million, is above the international average.
Based on data from the Oil Ministry, daily consumption of gasoline in Iran has surpassed 100 million liters, i.e., 10 times more than in Turkey with almost the same population.
