Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 2
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: The Iranian administration has reduced compressed natural gas (CNG) price by 520 rials (about 1 cent) per kilogram.
As of February 24, CNG is sold at 6000 rials (about 22 cents) per kilogram, Iran's Fars news agency reported on March 2.
CNG price had increased in the beginning of the current Iranian fiscal year (March 21, 2014). Therefore, CNG consumption compared to gasoline consumption had dropped sharply, reaching from 21 million cubic meters per day to 18 million cubic meters per day.
Abbas Kazemi, Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company said on Feb. 8 that if CNG consumption reaches 25 million liters per day, the country will attain self-sufficiency in supplying fuel to the transportation fleet.
Currently, CNG stations across the country have a capacity to supply 40 million liters of fuel per day, he noted.
Earlier, Naser Sajjadi, managing director of National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, said CNG consumption has dropped in the country compared to the past two years due to its price which is almost equal to gasoline price.
Currently there are over 3.7 million cars in Iran running on CNG.
Some 90 percent of the major cities' taxis, as well as 60 percent of the vehicles used in public transportation sector, are currently using CNG.
Iran's CNG consumption was around five million liters per year in the Iranian calendar year of 1381 (ended March 20, 2003), but the figure reached seven billion in the calendar year of 1391 (ended March 20, 2013).
Iran's average gasoline consumption was around 65.5 million liters per day in the week to Jan. 30, some 4.285 million liters less compared to preceding week. The country's gasoline output is currently around 62 million liters, so it needs to import the rest. The Islamic Republic currently only imports Euro-4 gasoline.