Over the next 12 months, 650 gas stations will be added to Iran’s current 3,450 stations, the head of Iran Gas Station Owners Union said.
“In addition, 65 stations will go on stream in mid-April,” Bijan Haj-Mohammad Reza was quoted as saying by ILNA.
Preparing gas stations across the country for the Iranian New Year (starting March 20) holidays, Haj-Mohammad Reza noted that all gas stations, except a few ones requiring minor maintenance, are operational.
Earlier in October, officials said oil and gas majors Total and Royal Dutch Shell have been given the green light to build 200 commercial gas stations in Iran under their brand names, but the CEO of state-run National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company ruled out any negotiations with or approach by the duo to enter the energy retail market.
"Any domestic or foreign firm willing to build gas stations in Iran should first contact NIORDC, but no such proposal has been submitted yet," Seyyed Nasser Sajjadi told IRNA.
The entry of French and Anglo-Dutch companies will help commercialize the supply and distribution of petroleum products and reduce government monopoly in energy retail.
According to government officials, domestic gas station owners can establish a private joint-stock company to create their own brand.
“All over the country, there are 3,450 gas stations, including single- and dual-purpose stations, of which 1-2% are undergoing overhaul operations that will be completed in a week,” Haj-Mohammad Reza said.
The official announced that about 60-65 CNG stations will also become operational until mid-April, raising the number of the country’s CNG stations to 2,500.
Haj-Mohammad Reza added that an unknown number of mini gas stations has been planned to be built in the country, of which only one or two have obtained permission until now.
The government has been planning for more than a year to install single-pump stations and also reached an agreement with Tehran Municipality to establish 200 such stations in the capital, according to Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh.
