Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 9
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran's private sector will be permitted to import and sell gasoline and gas oil to the country, according to the next year's (to start on March 21, 2015) budget bill which was submitted to parliament on Dec. 7.
According to the bill, private sector can import and sell the mentioned products, however the market regulation will continue to remain under the responsibility of the oil ministry, Iran's ISNA news agency reported.
Mohsen Ghamsari, director for International Affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company called the decision as a beginning step towards privatization.
However he added that the national oil company will continue to import gasoline alongside with the private sector.
Iran used to import 40 percent of its needed gasoline by 2009. But, the international sanctions forced it to produce gasoline domestically through adding lead or some poisonous chemical catalysts such as MTBE to the product. MTBE is a highly poisonous substance which causes cancer. It is banned worldwide to be used for gasoline production.
The administration of President Hassan Rouhani ordered to stop the distribution of substandard gasoline.
Average daily gasoline consumption hits 70 million liters in Iran, meanwhile the country's gasoline output is currently around 60 million liters, so it needs to import the rest.
The country currently only imports Euro-4 gasoline.
Umid Niayesh is Trend Agency's staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh