Tehran, Iran, Jul. 21
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran's liquid fuel consumption hit 1.077 billion liters in the week to July 19.
Some 815.2 million liters of gas oil and 262.1 million liters of mazut were consumed in the country in the mentioned week, Iran's IRIB News Agency reported.
Iran's gas oil consumption in the mentioned period increased by 69.1 million liters per day compared to the previous week, while the country's mazut consumption increased by 3.5 million liters.
The ministry seeks to decrease liquid fuel consumption in the country by boosting gas consumption.
Iranian oil ministry's latest report suggests that the liquid fuel consumption of the country's power plants has doubled in the first two weeks of summer.
According to SHANA News Agency, some 2.02 billion liters of liquid fuel (diesel oil and mazut) was consumed in Iran in the first two weeks of summer (145 million liters per day). The figure was around 1.044 million liters (some 150 million liters per day) in the last week of spring.
Iran's total liquid fuel output (including gasoline, diesel oil, mazut, and kerosene) is a little more than 265 million liters per day.
Iran's Mehr News Agency reported on July 13 that the stored liquid gas of Iranian power plants is nearly finished.
If the oil ministry fails to provide enough gas to the power plants, then numerous blackouts would be expected across the country in summer.
According to the oil ministry, Iran's power plants averagely consumed 77 million liters of liquid fuel in the previous year.
The government limits transferring gas to power plants in winter, and instead delivers liquid fuel to the plants. But in summer the ministry has enough gas to meet the power plants' demands.
Iran has 75 power plants with the liquid gas reserves enough for 45 days. The power plants have the capacity to receive over 200 million cubic meters of gas per day, but due to gas shortage the country meets around 40 percent of the power plants' needs with liquid fuel.
A quick look at Iranian power plant's gas consumption rate in the first 14 days of previous summer shows that the country faced no problem in providing enough gas back then.
Iran's total gas consumption in February two years ago was a little over 505 million cubic meters. Power plants and industrial units' consumption accounted for 141 million cubic meters of the mentioned amount, while the household's consumption was a little over 364 million cubic meters. It is while over 240 million cubic meters of gas were delivered to power plants and industrial units in July same year.
Iran natural gas output currently stands at 570 million cubic meters per day.