Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 22 / Trend D. Khatinoglu /
Beginning from January 2010, the Swiss trading company Glencore International AG, playing an important role in ensuring Iran's domestic needs for petrol, has stopped to export this product in the country.
According to the Iranian parliament's commission on economy representative, Ali Adani, at present, Iran's daily need for petrol is 68 million liters, 44 million are produced in the country, the rest is imported from abroad.
The Company Glencore supplied Iran with 17,000 barrels of petrol per day. Despite the fact that Glencore has ceased export, another Swiss company - Vitol continues to trade in petrol with Tehran. Today, import of more than 40 percent of petrol to Iran is carried out by Swiss companies.
Stopping of petrol export to Iran is explained by the international sanctions. The U.S. Congress approved a law to impose the embargo to companies that export petrol to Iran, insuring this export and transportation. After approval of this law by the U.S. Senate and President Barack Obama, it must enter into force.
However, despite Western companies' refusal from the export of petrol to Iran, the country can get support from its old partner. Earlier, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced that his country is ready to sell 20,000 barrels of petrol daily to Iran.
In its turn, Iran claims that it has the opportunity to meet the domestic needs in this type of fuel. Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi said the country is able to meet 100 percent of domestic demand for petrol. In September 2009 Mirkazemi warned that companies refusing from export of petrol to us [Iran] will be excluded from a list of the national oil companies.
Iranian officials have previously announced about the possibility to ensure domestic demand for petrol on their own, pointing to the construction of seven new oil refineries.
At present, Iran ensures 40 percent of domestic demand for petrol. Since 2007, Iran has begun to construct seven refineries to solve this problem. The largest of these factories is a company "Star of the Persian Gulf". It was supposed to begin its production in 2012. Its capacity is 35 million liters of petrol per day. However, a strike will occur due to non-payment of funds to ten companies within five months with which a contract has been signed. This project with investments worth six billion euro was to create the largest refinery in the country. However, investments worth only 500 million euros have been drawn since 2007 and up to now. So, 17 percent of the project has been realized.
In his interview with Shana agency director of the National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company Shahnazizade said that the government appealed to the parliament to provide funding from the state budget to solve the problems with investments on this project. But no decision was made.
Director of "Star of the Gulf" project Kirachian Ismail said that investments worth 1.1 billion euros are required for this project, 30 percent falls on shareholders and 70 percent - on the government in 2010.
About 40 percent of shares of the project belongs to the National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company, 35 percent Shasta (Investment Company for Public Security), 10 percent - the Pension Fund and 15 percent - Indonesia's SPC.
According to the Iranian Parliament, about $11 billion have been allocated for import of petrol and gas oil to ensure domestic demand during the first term of Iranian President Ahmadinejad. About $3.9, $5.8 and $6.6 billion was spent for this purpose from 2005 to 2009 annually.