Compressed natural gas consumption rose by 10 million cubic meters per day in June compared to March, head of CNG department at the state-run National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company said.
“CNG consumption fell to 10 mcm/d in March and February due to closedowns to control the coronavirus. However, use of this cheap and environmentally-friendly alternative fuel registered 100% growth in June and approached 20 mcm/d, the same volume the plague,” Mohammad Hossein Baqeri was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.
As soon as Covid-19 related traffic restrictions were eased, daily CNG consumption is rising and is projected to exceed 24 mcm/d by the end of July, Baqeri said.
Globally Iran is 5th in CNG consumption. There are 2,000 CNG stations in the country.
The US, EU, Russia and China daily use 75 mcm, 45 mcm, 40 mcm and 25 mcm of the fuel, respectively. An estimated 15 million CNG-run vehicles ply the roads in the world, of which 1.5 million are in Europe.
“Of the 19 million vehicles in Iran, over 5 million have hybrid CNG engines and the share of CNG in overall fuel consumption is less than 20%.”
NIORDC and Bank Mellat signed an agreement last December to implement a plan to convert gasoline-powered vehicles to hybrid CNG engines. As per the deal, $510 million needed to convert 1.4 million gasoline-powered vehicles to CNG hybrids, will be put up by the state lender
In the last decade more than $2.4 billion was invested to expand CNG use in Iran to contribute to the global effort to reduce CO2 emissions. Comprised mostly of methane gas, CNG produces fewer undesirable gases compared to gasoline and diesel.
Encouraging car owners to shift to natural gas has been on the government agenda permanently.
Each cubic meter of CNG is sold for 6,000 rials (3 cents), while one liter of subsidized gasoline costs 15,000 rials (7.5 cents) and non-subsidized 30,000 rials (15 cents).
Referring to the program launched by the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company to convert 1.4 million gasoline-powered vehicles (pickup trucks, taxis and vans) to CNG hybrids, he said 150,000 vehicles were equipped with CNG kits and tanks in the last five months.
NIORDC and Bank Mellat signed an agreement last December to implement a plan to convert gasoline-based vehicles to hybrid CNG engines.
As per the deal, $510 million required to convert the 1.4 million gasoline-powered vehicles to CNG hybrids, will be put up by the state lender.
Better Option
Liquefied petroleum gas can also be used as fuel for powering cars, but experts say CNG is a much better option because it is lighter and disperses rapidly into the air. LPG is highly flammable as it is much heavier than air. Primary use of CNG is an alternative for fuel in automobiles, whereas LPG commonly is used as fuel for cooking, gas fireplaces and portable heaters.
"Iran has a big gas network and although CNG is less expensive than gasoline, we continue to manufacture gasoline-powered cars instead of natural gas vehicles (NGVs)."
In related news, IRNA quoted Naser Raeesifard, head of the oil derivatives’ distribution association, as saying that sales at the gasoline stations, which had plummeted between March 15 and April 15 to less than 40 million liters/day (due to the virus), has now reached 75 ml/d, up 87% compared to March. Daily gasoline output is around 95 million liters.
Regarding diesel, he said close to 95 million liters of the fuel is produced daily, of which 15 million liters is exported to neighbors.
High consumption of diesel (80 million liters per day) stems largely from ageing heavy-duty vehicles contributing terribly to the worsening air pollution. There are 130,000 heavy vehicles in Iran and the manufacturing dates of most go back 25 to 30 years.
Deaths caused by the novel coronavirus in Iran crossed the 12,300 threshold on Friday.
With 221 additional fatalities, Iran's total count reached 12,400 and confirmed cases rose beyond 250,000.
