Tehran, Iran, Dec. 28
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran's Gas Station Owners Union officially sent a letter to the country's oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, requesting permission to import standard gasoline.
The union says that based on the Article 44 of Iran's constitution the ministry has to grant permission to the private sector to import gasoline, the Mehr news agency reported Dec. 28.
Naser Rayisifar, an official with Iran's Gas Station Owners Union, said the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) was supposed to be privatized, but the government has refused to do so.
"The government needs to allow the private sector to import high-quality gasoline. If we sell high-quality gasoline at the real price, smuggling will be stopped," he explained.
Gasoline prices have decreased sharply in global markets, following continuing fall in oil prices. Each barrel of gasoline is currently being sold at around $65 in Singapore market, some $4.6 less than a few days ago.
The former managing director at the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC), Mostafa Kashkouli, previously estimated that Iran's gasoline consumption will reach 74 million liters per day in the current year.
The country's gasoline output is currently around 62 million liters, so it needs to import the rest.
Iran only imports gasoline conforming to Euro 4 standard as importing Euro 2 gasoline has been banned.