Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 4
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran imported 3.28 billion liters of gasoline worth $1 billion in the fiscal year ended on March 20, Mehr news agency reported April 4.
Iran's gasoline consumption in the last fiscal year increased by two percent and stood at 71 million liters per day, on average.
However the statistics indicate that the country's gasoline import recorded a two-fold rise in the period compared to 1.65 billion liters of import in the preceding year.
Mehr quoted Nasser Sajjadi, managing-director of National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company as saying the high amount of gasoline import was for boosting the storage capacity of the strategic fuel.
Certain part of the imported gasoline also was used during the Iran's new year holidays (started from March 20), he added.
Iranians consumed 855 million liters of gasoline during the vacations of the new Iranian fiscal year (Novruz holidays) from March 16 to March 25.
Average daily gasoline consumption in Iran during the period surpassed 85.5 million liters, four percent more year on year.
The country's nine refineries averagely produced 62.5 million liters of gasoline per day during the last fiscal year.
Iran says that would stop gasoline import by August 2016 after the Persian Gulf Star refinery's first phase becomes operational.
By fully commencing the Persian Gulf Star refinery (all of its three phases), Iran will increase its gasoline production by 36 million liters per day.
The Islamic Republic currently imports only Euro-4 gasoline.
Iran used to import 40 percent of its needed gasoline by 2009. But the international sanctions forced it to produce gasoline domestically by adding lead or some poisonous chemical catalysts to the product.
The administration of President Hassan Rouhani ordered to stop the distribution of substandard gasoline.
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