Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 22
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
The time is ripe in Iran for freeing up gasoline price.
Nosratollah Seifi, Managing Director of the Iranian Fuel Conservation Company, said the price for gasoline in Iran is nearing the Persian Gulf free on board (FOB) price. So, the time is ripe for freeing up gasoline price in the country, Iran's IRNA news agency reported on Feb. 22.
Based on the Subsidy Reform Plan, gasoline price in the country should be 90 percent of the Persian Gulf FOP price, he noted.
At present, the FOB price is about 25 cents per liter, he said, adding that 90 percent of the FOB price will be 12,500 rials (about $46 cents).
On Feb. 16, the Iranian parliament (Majlis) approved a five-percent increase in fuel prices for the next fiscal year starting March 21, amid falling oil prices.
The administration of President Hassan Rouhani is now authorized to raise semi-subsidized regular gasoline price from the current 7,000 rials a liter to 7,350 rials (26.6 cents), according to the legislators' approval.
Abbas Kazemi, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company said that the country has more than halved its import of gasoline compared to the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20, 2014).
He added that the volume of gasoline exported to Iran per day has been slashed to 4.5 million liters.
Meanwhile, Iran's gasoline production will rise to 64 million liters per day by March 2015, Kazemi said. Iran is set to become an exporter of high-standard gasoline in the next Iranian calendar year, he noted.