Iran’s gasoline use up 7.4% y/y in Apr-Nov: NIOPDC

Iran’s gasoline consumption has increased to record highs this year as the country continues to import small shipments to meet the growing demand for fuels.

The National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) said on Monday that gasoline use in the country had increased by 7.4% year on year in April-November to an average of 124.5 million liters per day.

NIOPDC’s CEO Karamat Veis Karami said that diesel fuel consumption in Iran had also increased to reach an average of 59 million liters per day in just more than seven months to October 2.

Veis Karami added that the gasoil supplied to Iranian power plants had reached an average of 25 million liters per day over the same period, up 23% year on year.

He also said that Iran had imported an average of 9 million liters per day of gasoline in the calendar month to late September.

The rising demand for fuels has forced Iran to resume imports more than a decade after the country celebrated self-sufficiency in production of gasoline.

The country is taking deliveries of gasoline shipments mainly from Russia, according to statements by Oil Ministry authorities.

Experts say cheap fuel prices that have encouraged smuggling across Iran’s vast borders are the main reason for the rising demand for gasoline and diesel in the country.

One liter of gasoline is currently available at $0.05 in gas stations across Iran, a price much lower than those used in neighboring countries like Turkey and Pakistan.

Authorities have said in recent weeks that the government has no plans to increase the price of fuels for motorists.

That comes as the government had said in mid-summer upon taking office that its main strategy to tackle the issue of fuel overconsumption and smuggling will be to raise the prices.

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