Gasoline imports have reduced by 50 percent due to average consumption falling to less than 70 million liters per day in the present Iranian calendar year (started March 2014), deputy of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) said, Mehr news agency reported.
Shahrokh Khosravani said, "Average gasoline consumption has been below estimates, while imports have dropped due to reduced domestic consumption and increased production in some refineries."
Gasoline imports are determined by volume of consumption, production and the strategic reserves.
Iran's production averages at around 63 million liters per day, while an average of 5 million liters per day was imported this year.
Additionally, there was a significant drop in gasoline consumption in the October-November period compared to the same time last year. However, imports are expected to rise due to higher consumption in March and April next year during the Nowruz holiday season.
Iran has traditionally been a net importer, notably of gasoline, to meet domestic demand. However, international sanctions have restricted the country’s ability to import the requisite amount of fuels. As a result, it embarked on plans to increase its refining capacity to reduce dependence on imports.
The country plans to increase refining capacity to 3 million barrels a day over the next four years, Mehdi Sharifi, marketing manager of National Iranian Oil Company, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying Oct. 30.
The government must import three to four cargoes of gasoline per month, Sharifi said. He declined to specify origins of the fuel.
Gas Condensate Exports
Close to 1.3 million tons of gas condensate worth $759 million was exported by the Iran Petrochemical Commercial Company (IPCC) since March 2014, managing director of the company Mehdi Sharifi said.
China and India are major buyers of Iran's petrochemicals due to a rise in demand as well as Iran's competitive prices, Shana news agency quoted Sharifi as saying.
Export of aromatics also reached 545,000 tons with an estimated $755 million value in the said period. Polymer and petrochemical substances and chemical fertilizers were among other major exports.
IPCC exported 2.5 million tons of petrochemical products, valued at $2.2 billion, since the beginning of this year.
Of this figure, China imported 70 percent, India 10 percent, Africa 9.9 percent and Far East 5.2 percent. Southeast Asian and Oceanian countries are also among top buyers of Iran's petrochemicals.
