Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 8
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran exported 31.76 million liters of diesel to Afghanistan during the first half of the current fiscal year, Mohammad Mehdi Gharaei, an official with the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, said.
Iran exported 17 million liters of diesel to the neighboring country in the sixth calendar month of Shahrivar (Aug. 21-Sept. 21), compared to 11 million liters of exports in preceding month, Gharaei said, Mehr news agency reported Oct. 8
He further said that the volume of diesel export to Afghanistan registered a huge increase compared to the first Iranian calendar month (March 20-April 21), when it was 4.99 million liters.
Iran exported 224.1 million liters of diesel to Afghanistan and Central Asian countries in the last fiscal year (ended March 20).
Nasser Sajjadi, managing director of National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, earlier said that in the last fiscal year, 5 million liters of diesel was being exported to global markets on a daily basis.
Alongside with Central Asia and Afghanistan, which were Iran's top diesel importers, the Islamic Republic also exported the fuel to other markets including South East Asia.
Iran eyes to export 20 million liters of diesel per day during the current fiscal year. The country's average diesel export stood at 14 million liters per day since March 20.
Iran used to feed its power plants with diesel and fuel oil but later replaced them with gas, which caused the country to save liquid fuel, including diesel.
The country stopped diesel imports in 1998, but then became a net diesel importer in 2005 until early 2015.