Plans are underway in the refining industry to increase the daily production of petroleum products so that about 130 million liters per day of gasoline and diesel each will be produced by March 2027.
As per these plans, the quality of 75% of the output will conform to the Euro 4 and 5 standards, ISNA reported.
Currently, 2.286 million barrels of crude oil and gas condensates are refined daily in 10 refineries across the country.
On average, 115 million liters of high-quality gasoline and 112 million liters of diesel are produced in Iran now. The production of these two main products will increase by about 15% to reach 129 million liters of gasoline and 130 million liters of diesel in about five years.
At present, more than 70% of the country's main gasoline and diesel output, equivalent to more than 75 million liters of gasoline and 70 million liters of diesel produced daily in the country comply with Euro 4 and 5 standards. The figure is predicted to increase to 75% by March 2027.
Gasoline is burned by car owners, whose numbers are increasing every year. However, as diesel-powered cars are banned in the country, the liquid fuel is primarily used in heavy-duty vehicles, power plants and industries.
Limited Gasoline Imports
The cheap prices of domestic gasoline and diesel have led to a major surge in fuel smuggling across Iranian borders in recent months, forcing the country to resume limited gasoline imports from Russia to redress the imbalance between supply and demand.
The government has predicted the deficit to rise incessantly, for which it has allocated close to $1 billion in the fiscal 2023-24 budget bill to buy diesel and gasoline from international markets.
As fuel consumption increases every year, the construction of new refineries will help cover the widening supply-demand gap.
The National Iranian Oil Company has boosted its crude oil refining capacity to 3.8 million barrels per day, returning to levels not seen before the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and reimposition of sanctions on Iran's crude sales in 2018.
The plan to raise oil production capacity was implemented at an estimated cost of $500 million, which was mainly spent on digging new wells and installing submersible pumps in marginal and abandoned wells whose output level had decreased substantially.
The current capacity cannot grow unless knowledge-based firms join hands with NIOC. Agreements worth $270 million have been concluded with the Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research, a subsidiary of the non-government Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, based on which the research center is tasked with providing NIOC with high-tech equipment and materials.
Importing gasoline to plug fuel shortage is a short-term solution and other effective measures like sending dilapidated vehicles to the junkyard and converting gas guzzlers to CNG hybrids will help reduce gasoline consumption.
Decreasing Mazut Production
While the output of gasoline and diesel is set to rise, the production of mazut has declined in refineries compared to the past.
According to data furnished by the National Iranian Oil Company, the mazut output in refining complexes was around 80 million liters (500,000 barrels) eight year ago, which has now reduced by about 20%.
Currently, on average, about 65 million liters of mazut are produced in the country, which is about 18% of the products produced in the oil refineries.
Based on the plans, with the implementation of quality improvement projects in refineries, the mazut output will reduce by 5% and reach 12.9% of their total production (equivalent to 49 million liters per day).
Iran is ranked 11th, ninth and 13th in terms of oil refining, gasoline and diesel production capacity, respectively. However, despite the reduction in mazut output, the production of this low-value and eco-unfriendly fuel tops the list.
