Iran has imported 2.7 billion liters of gasoline since the beginning of the current Iranian year (ending March 19, 2016), indicating a 1-billion-liter rise compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Based on official statistics issued by the Oil Ministry, gasoline consumption in Iran witnessed a 1.7% increase in 2014 and reached 70 million liters of super and regular gasoline.
Needless to say, the surge in domestic consumption resulted in a drastic rise in the import of the strategic commodity, Mehr News Agency reported.
About 4.7 million liters per day and 1.7 billion liters of gasoline were imported in 2014, demonstrating a 31% rise compared with the corresponding period of 2013.
Of the imported volume, 50,000 liters have been imported from the Caspian Sea oil terminals and the rest, worth $1 billion, from the oil terminals located in southern regions.
Approximately 1.3 billion liters of gasoline were imported in 2013. In other words, during the first two years of the administration of President Hassan Rouhani who took office in 2013, 3 billion liters of gasoline were purchased to meet the ever-growing need for the strategic commodity.
Due to Shazand Refinery's overhaul and the leap in domestic consumption, gasoline import experienced a 50% rise compared to that of 2014.
As per the Cabinet's directive, the Oil Ministry has been allowed to import 10 million liters of gasoline per day since the beginning of the current Iranian year, based on which 8 million liters of gasoline have been imported daily.
Since March 21, 2.7 billion liters of gasoline have been purchased. Oil experts believe that the 2.1% jump in gasoline import is due to domestic consumption, because of which 71 million liters of the oil byproduct have been bought and distributed nationwide.
Nonetheless, the record set in 2006 when daily gasoline import stood at 27.5 million liters has not been broken.
Experts opine that if it were not because of the electronic fuel cards, gasoline daily consumption would stand at 150 million liters per day now.
In 2007, the government started issuing electronic fuel cards across the country. In December 2010, as part of the first phase of the national subsidy reform plan, the government offered car owners monthly gasoline quotas. The subsidized price of rationed gasoline had increased since then, but remained well below international prices.
According to reports, Iran's gasoline production rose to 59 million liters per day on average since the beginning of the current Iranian year (started March 21), indicating a rise of about 1.2 million liters compared to last year's total output.
There is a growing need of new refinery construction nationwide to meet domestic gasoline demand. Oil officials hope that the average gasoline production reaches close to 61 million liters per day by March 2016.
They have already announced that Iran will become a gasoline exporter when the first phase of the Persian Gulf Star Refinery in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas goes on stream. Once fully operational, it will have the capacity to produce 36 million liters of Euro 4-compliant gasoline per day.
Iran plans to produce high-quality gasoline to curb air pollution that hampers the wellbeing of millions of Iranians.
