Baku, Azerbaijan, June 20
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran has prepared a plan to boost exports of oil products to Central Asia, said Esmaeil Hashamfirooz, the international affairs director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company.
He referred to Tajikistan, Armenia, and Georgia as the new market for Iranian diesel fuel, Iran's Mehr news agency reported on June 20.
Iran is currently exporting 2.5-3 million liters of diesel fuel per day to Afghanistan, he said, adding that Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are the most important rivals of Iran in this regard.
Iran is also exporting oil products, especially diesel fuel and LPG, to Armenia and Georgia in single consignments, he noted.
Tajikistan has a potential market for importing 2.5-3 million liters of diesel fuel, and Iran can be a potential exporter of oil products to Tajikistan, he said.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Iran exported 300,000 barrels of mazut, naphtha, and LPG last year.
Hashamfirooz said on June 12 that the country's oil products production capacity stands at 70 million liters per day. He added that 41 million liters of mazut, 25 million liters of diesel fuel, 4 million liters of kerosene, and around one thousand tons of liquefied petroleum gas are produced per day.
For the time being, Iran exports oil products to Armenia, Georgia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan, and some of the Central Asian nations, he noted.
Iran is keen for any extra income as sanctions have halved its crude exports - its main source of revenue - to just over 1 million barrels per day.