On the basis of official statistics, Iran’s average consumption of petrol experienced a two-percent growth in the past year reaching 71 million liters per day.
Meanwhile, the two-percent increase in consumption was accompanied by a two-fold increase in the imports of petrol.
A daily average of nine million liters of petrol yielding an overall amount of 3.285 billion liters were imported to the country in the last year while the figure for the preceding year had been 1.650 million liters.
On the other hand, given the 30-cent imports cost for one liter of petrol, a total of about one billion liters of the product were imported while a part of that was exchanged with Iranian crude in the last three months of the year 1394 (ended on March 19).
Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) Seyyed Naser Sajjadi has pointed to the doubled increase in petrol imports saying “the rise in consumption has not been significant while increased storage capacity of petrol remains as one reason for the leap in imports.”
The official emphasized that the swelling in the imports of petrol over the past year has increased the volume of strategic reserves of the oil product; “moreover, a portion of the imported petrol has supplied the high demand for fuel during Nowruz holidays.”
Meanwhile, some NIORDC officials believe that the huge import of petrol has been due to the prolonged overhaul period of some oil refineries.
Petrol imports set a new record in Iran while the completion and implementation of Setare Khalij Fars Gas Condensates Refinery marks the main plan of Oil Ministry for ceasing petrol imports in the current year.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh had previously stressed that “implementation of Setare Khalij Fars Gas Condensates Refinery remains high on agenda of the Ministry in the new year (began March 20).”
The operation of the refinery would add 12 million liters to petrol production capacity with Euro-4 standard alleviating the need to import the strategic product.
The main obstacle on implementing the first phase of Setare Khalij Fars Gas Refinery is the financing issue as 800 million dollars are needed to that end.
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