Tehran, Iran, Oct. 19
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran exported 9,000 metric tons of gasoline in the sixth Iranian calendar month (August 23 - September 22).
Iran earned $7.4 million by exporting gasoline in the mentioned month.
Iran's gasoline exports in the mentioned month accounted for 0.25 percent of the country's total exports, Iran's ISNA News Agency reported October 19.
According to the Iranian Customs Administration's data, the country exported 10.4 metric tons of gasoline worth $9.7 million in the same period of the previous year, which is 23 percent more than the current year's figure.
Iran exports each kilogram of gasoline at the price of $0.8, which makes $0.57 per liter.
The price of semi-subsidized gasoline across Iran is 7,000 rials - $0.222 based on the exchange rate of U.S dollar at the free market) , while the free market price is 10,000 rials - $0.317 based on the exchange rate of U.S dollar at the free market) .
Iranians with cars will receive a monthly allowance of 60 liters with the semi-subsidized price and have to pay the free market price for larger volumes.
Iran needs to daily import around 10 million liters of gasoline to meet its domestic demands.
The country only imports gasoline conforming to Euro-4 standard as importing Euro-2 gasoline has been banned.
The Former Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) Mostafa Kashkouli previously estimated that Iran's gasoline consumption will reach 74 million liters per day in the current year.
The country's gasoline output is currently around 60 million liters, so it needs to import the rest.
Shahrokh Khosravani, deputy director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), said June 9 that Iran will be able to export 20 million liters of gasoline per day as of next year.
"Once the Persian Gulf Star refinery's gasoline production unit comes on stream, the country's total production capacity will reach 96 million liters per day," Khosravani said.
"Then Iran will be able to export the surplus gasoline which is around 20 million liters per day," he noted.
He went on to note that the first phase of the Persian Gulf Star refinery (with the capacity of 12 million liters of gasoline per day) will come on stream by the end of the next Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2016).