Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1
By Rahim Zamanov - Trend:
National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company increased the price of diesel oil at the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman port cities, Iran's Mehr News Agency reported on February 1.
The move aims at preventing fuel smuggling.
Iran currently presents diesel oil at the price of 23,000 rials at 36 stations near its borders with Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Caspian Sea states.
Member of the union of Iranian oil products exporters Vahid Ebrahimi said on January 29 that smuggling of diesel fuel is higher than smuggling of other oil products in Iran, the Tasnim News Agency reported.
"One of the main reasons for the smuggling of high amounts of diesel fuel is the notable difference of its real price and consumer price," he added.
"The government should take the issue of fuel smuggling into account when it decides to change the prices of oil products," he further said.
Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Refining & Distribution Company, Abbas Kazemi, told SHANA News Agency on Jan. 3 that Iran plans to increase oil product swaps with its neighbors to prevent fuel smuggling.
He went on to say that Iran is interested in increasing a swap with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Oil and oil product swap deals with neighboring countries were repeatedly suspended during the administration of ex-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013).
Early in June, Mehr News Agency quoted former Director of the National Iranian Oil Company Ahmad Qalebani as saying Iran currently has the capacity to swap 500,000 barrels of oil each day.
The country also plans to swap one million barrels of oil in the near future he added.
"Unfortunately, to date the country is not using its oil swap capacity at all," Qalebani explained.
Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) Mostafa Kashkouli said last March that Iran plans to increase the volume of its oil products swap by 30 percent in the current Iranian year (ending March 20, 2014).
Kashkouli said that Iran swapped more than 100,000 tons of oil products in the previous year and planned to boost its swap volume.
"The swap of oil products including gasoline, diesel and liquefied natural gas (LNG), will increase by 30 percent this year compared to the previous year," he said.
He also added that in the previous year, the main part of Iran's oil product exports fell to diesel which was delivered to such neighboring countries as Iraq and Afghanistan.