Per capita gasoline consumption in Iran, with a population of 83 million, is above the global average.
According to IRNA and based on data from the Oil Ministry and the National Iranian Oil Company, 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.
The National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, a subsidiary of NIOC, started to export the fuel to international markets, namely Iraq, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf littoral states and the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan in 2019.
Nonetheless, experts have warned that if the consumption growth rate continues at the same pace, the company will have to stop selling gasoline and must import it to meet the ever-growing demand in less than two years.
The more fuel is burnt domestically, the less can be sold and not only will the NIOC lose its market share, but also deprive Iran of a part of its foreign revenues.
Each liter of gasoline is sold at 7.5 cents in Iran whereas the same amount of fuel can generate 55 cents if it is exported.
Put it simply, if local consumption is reduced by 10 million liters per day, the company can earn close to $1.5 billion in revenues in one year.
“Gasoline consumption between 2011 and 2017 shot up by 50% that [regretfully] was big enough to be registered in the Guinness World Record,” Alireza Sadeqabadi, NIORDC's former CEO, said.
"Such prohibitive consumption is simply not proportional to the number of cars in the country and is something worthy of concern," he added.
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.
Covid-19 Restrictions
The figure reached 105 ml/d in 2019, but it fell remarkably in 2020 due to the Covid-19 restrictions imposed to help fight the plague. However, now that limitations have been removed, demand is returning to the levels it reached before the coronavirus outbreak.
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.
The government paid huge subsidies – $51 million per day – for gasoline in 2016.
Sadeqabadi believes that it is high time the government starts putting the brakes on production of fuel-intensive cars.
Replacing gasoline with compressed natural gas is among other proposals to curb rising consumption. Hybrids are also appearing on Tehran’s roads, albeit at a very slow pace.
He added that officials have often warned about the strange consumption patterns, but because fuel is no longer imported, they care little about how much fuel is used.
Asked about diesel output, Sadeqabadi said 100 million liters of the fuel are produced daily, of which 44 million liters comply with Euro-4 emission standards.
Diesel-powered cars are banned in Iran and the fuel is primarily used in heavy-duty vehicles, power plants and industries.
