Iran will become self-reliant in gasoline production by March 2016, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Production and Distribution Company (NIOPDC) said, ISNA reported Thursday.
Naser Sajjadi said, “We will reach self-sufficiency and start export of large volumes of petroleum products upon completion of the Persian Gulf Star Refinery in the port city of Bandar Abbas city in less than two years.”
According to estimates, Iran will need to import 5-6 million liters of gasoline per day until the Persian Gulf Star Refinery comes on stream. The country was set to become self-reliant in gasoline production and start exports by the summer, but things have not gone according to plan due to a delay in construction of several refineries.
Sajjadi underlined the expansion in the number of compressed natural gas (CNG) stations across the country and establishment of the smart fuel cards system as important measures to help reduce gasoline consumption.
“Daily gasoline supply would have reached 140 million liters per day if the two projects were not launched,” he said, stressing that consumption has been reduced almost by half.
An average of 70 million liters per day of gasoline and 18 million cubic meters per day of CNG has been distributed over the past nine months.
