Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec.15/ Trend F.Milad
Iran needs to invest 150 million euros in some of its refineries to boost the nation's gasoline production capacity by 6 million liters per day, the Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Company Farhad Ahmadi said.
Once the development plans of Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery and the RFCC unit of Shazand Refinery come on stream, Iran will stop producing gasoline in petrochemical complexes, the Mehr News Agency quoted Ahmadi as saying.
The development plan of Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery is now complete by 75 percent and is projected to come on stream in 9 months, he added.
Iran Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said on September 21 that Iran will boost its gasoline production capacity by 10 million liters in the near future.
"Once the third development phase of Abadan Oil Refinery and the RFCC unit of Shazand Refinery come on stream, the country's gasoline output will be increased by 10 million liters," he said, the Mehr news agency reported.
Iran exported over 132,000 tons of gasoline, worth around $134 million, last year.
According to the Customs Administration data, the gasoline exports rose by 127 percent in value and 108.5 percent in volume, respectively, compared to its preceding year.
Armenia, Afghanistan, the UAE, Iraq and Oman were the destinations for Iranian gasoline.
According to official government data, Iranian gasoline imports have slumped by as much as 95 percent over the last four years as rising refinery capacity and lowering fuel subsidies help neutralize Western sanctions aimed at starving Tehran of fuel.