Tehran, Iran, Aug. 17
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran imported some $22 trillion (some $710 million based on the exchange rate of USD at the free market) worth of gasoline from the beggining of the current calendar year (which started on March 21).
The country imported a total figure of 670 million liters of gasoline in the mentioned period, making an average ammount of 4.5 million liters per day, Iran's Mehr News Agency reported.
The figure is expected to reach 2 billion liters by the end of the current year.
Iran's average gasoline consumption in the current year has reached 70 million liters per day, some 1.5 percent more than the same period previous year.
Over the past several years, Iran's gasoline import dependence has decreased significantly as a result of increased domestic refining capacity and subsidy cuts. Iran plans to increase gasoline production capacity at the Isfahan and Bandar Abbas refineries by the end of 2014.
Despite refinery expansions, FGE expects Iran's gasoline imports to increase over the medium and long term because of increased gasoline demand and the government's plan to reduce gasoline production at petrochemical plants. However, gasoline demand is expected to decrease in the short term because of higher prices as a result of subsidy cuts.
It was announced on June 9 that Iran plans to distribute gasoline conforming to Euro-4 standard in 8 major cities by December.
The country currently distributes only Euro-4 gasoline in Tehran, Arak, and Karaj, Iran's IRIB News Agency reported on June 9.
Abbas Kazemi, managing director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), said on July 5 that Iran currently distributed 28 million liters of gasoline conforming to Euro-4 standard across the country.
"Each day some 16 million liters of gasoline conforming to Euro-4 standard is being produced in Shazand oil refinery, and another 2 million in Tabriz refinery," he explained.
"We also import 10 million liters of gasoline conforming to Euro-4 standard," he said.