The National Iranian Gas Company will likely restrict compressed natural gas delivery to pumps, if domestic gas consumption surpasses 650 million cubic meters per day, the head of the Iran CNG Association said.
“Gas consumption in households has surpassed 550 mcm/d and NIGC has already cut fuel supply to thermal power plants,” Ardeshir Dadras was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
If the growing trend continues, NIGC will have to curb gas delivery not only to industries but also to CNG stations, he added.
Close to 30 mcm of CNG are supplied to 2,650 CNG filling stations in Iran on a daily basis.
Dadras said the number of vehicles with hybrid CNG engines has surpassed 5 million and if the supply is limited, many car owners could face problem as they will have to fill up their tanks with gasoline that is costlier than CNG.
Gasoline is sold at two rates in Iran. As per the directive issued by NIORDC in 2019, private car owners can only buy 60 liters of subsidized gasoline every month at 15,000 rials (10 cents) a liter and at double the rate for additional purchases (unsubsidized fuel).
One cubic meter of CNG costs 6,000 rials (3 cents), which is about three times cheaper than gasoline.
The National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company, has announced that of the 19 million vehicles in Iran, over 5 million have hybrid CNG engines, accounting for 20% of overall CNG consumption.
Globally, Iran is the fifth biggest CNG consumer.
The United States, the European Union, Russia and China use 75 mcm, 45 mcm, 40 mcm and 35 mcm of the fuel per day, respectively.
CNG is projected to comprise 35% of Iran's total fuel consumption by the end of the Sixth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2017-22).
Unlike gasoline, eco-friendly CNG minimizes harmful carbon emission. This helps engines run more efficiently and increases the life of spark plugs.
Abundant gas deposits and cost-effective production justify replacing gasoline with compressed natural gas.
In the last decade, $2.4 billion were invested to expand CNG use in Iran.
CNG stations receive fuel via a local utility at a pressure lower than that used for vehicle fueling and the fuel station compresses the gas to a higher pressure for vehicle fueling.
