Iran will issue $600 million in bonds to finance Abadan and Isfahan refineries' development projects, the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company's managing director said here on Sunday.
IRNA news agency quoted Seyyed Noureddin Shahnazizadeh as saying "Iran will issue $300 million worth of bonds to finance the development plan of Abadan refinery in two weeks and another $300 million worth of bonds to finance the development plan of Isfahan refinery in two months."
He went on to note "Sanctions have proven to be ineffective in hindering Iran from meeting its domestic gasoline needs."
"Iran is currently importing some 20 million liters of gasoline per day, but the country will become self-sufficient in producing gasoline by commissioning the above-mentioned development plans," he added.
For the time being, Iran''s nine crude refineries produce around 45 million liters of gasoline per day.
According to Shahnazizadeh, by the end of the next Iranian calendar year (March 19, 2011), six to seven million liters will be added to the country's daily gasoline production capacity.
Iran's OPEC Governor Mohammad-Ali Khatibi on Friday said that Iran is too important a market for foreign suppliers to ban gasoline exports.
"The inability to export to Iran would mean the gasoline market would become oversupplied, which would cause prices to fall," he said.
Previously Iranian Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari had reported that Iran's government has given the green light for the issuance of bonds worth one billion euros to help finance the development of the South Pars gas field.