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Iran constructs 188 CNG stations in 12 months

Iran Materials 31 August 2014 14:29 (UTC +04:00)

Tehran, Iran, Aug. 31

By Milad Fashtami - Trend:

Iran constructed 188 compressed natural gas (CNG) stations in the past 12 months.

Iran's Oil Ministry has also signed contracts for construction of nearly 1,000 new stations, bringing the total number to over 3,000, Iran's SHANA news agency said Aug. 31.

Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), Abbas Kazemi, said on August 27 that currently there are over 2,200 CNG stations across the country, Iran's Mehr News Agency reported.

Iran inaugurated 20 new CNG stations on the occasion of the Government Week (August 23-29).

According to Kazemi, Iran's current CNG consumption rate stands at 21 million liters per day - this is equal to 20 million liters of gasoline.

"An increase in the country's CNG consumption will lead to a decrease in Iran's gasoline consumption," Kazemi explained.

The head of the union of Iranian CNG station owners, Ardeshir Dadras, said on July 7 that the country currently has the biggest CNG vehicles fleet in the world.

"Some 90 percent of the major cities' taxis, as well as 60 percent of the vehicles used in public transportation sector are currently using CNG," he explained, Iran's Fars news agency reported.

According to Dadras, there are totally 17 million cars and 9 million motorcycles in Iran.

"With 17 million cars, Iran totally has 5,000 gas stations, while neighboring Turkey with 9 million cars has 12,800 gas stations," he explained.

Iran's oil ministry announced on May 14 that it plans to construct 1,000 new CNG stations across the country.

Once the stations come on stream, Iran's gasoline consumption would be cut by over 20 million liters, Iran's IRIB news agency reported on May 14.

Kazemi said on June 24 that Iran's CNG consumption rate will also reach 30 million liters per day by March 20, 2016.

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 of the previous year.

Mehr news agency reported on August 17 that the country imported some $22 trillion (some $710 million based on the exchange rate of USD at the free market) worth of gasoline since the beginning 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, marking an average amount of 4.5 million liters per day.

The figure is expected to reach 2 billion liters by the end of the current 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 (an international energy consultancy group) 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, IRIB news agency said June 9.

Kazemi said on July 5 that Iran is currently distributing 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 at 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," Kazemi said.

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