Iran exported an average 5 million liters of diesel per day to neighboring countries, including Pakistan, in the past 10 months, managing director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company said.
"About 8.5 million liters of gasoline (the only imported fuel of Iran) were imported daily in the 10-month period on average, accounting for 12% of the total 71 million liters of gasoline consumed daily nationwide," Seyyed Nasser Sajjadi was quoted as saying by Shana.
Earlier in December, Iran denied entry to a gasoline tanker from Turkmenistan due to “the low quality of Turkmen gasoline” and decided to halt gasoline imports from the neighboring country. Officials say 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 a production capacity of 36 million liters of Euro 4 gasoline per day.
The Persian Gulf country plans to produce high-quality gasoline to curb air pollution that hampers the wellbeing of millions of Iranians.
Referring to the unification of gasoline prices in May, Sajjadi said this has led to a drop in gasoline consumption, from 6-7% in the past years to the current 2.1% in 10 months, which is considered "reasonable".
On May 26, the government stopped selling subsidized gasoline to private vehicles at 7,000 rials and since then regular gasoline is offered at a single price of 10,000 rials (30 cents) for car owners nationwide without a quota.
"Fuel consumption is predicted to increase due to the new economic environment created after the removal of international sanctions against Iran," he said.
Underscoring the company's full readiness to meet the country's demand in winter, Sajjadi said the storage condition of oil products is appropriate and alternative fuels are available for different sectors.
"During the seven months ending November 21, some 5.4 billion cubic meters of feedstock gas have replaced liquefied fuels (diesel and mazut) in the power plants, doubling the volume of gas supply to the plants compared with the corresponding period of last Iranian year," he said.
