20 May 2007 - 09:18
  • News ID: 105031
Iran to Export Gasoline as of 2011

TEHRAN – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran would export gasoline from 2011 if the decreasing trend of consumption continued.

The president, who made the statement while offering the media a report on his government’s economic performance, said, “Due to investments made to develop refineries, the country will turn to a gasoline exporter in case consumption keeps going.”

Ahmadinejad added the country was currently producing four million barrels of oil per day, of which 2.4 million barrels were exported and 1.6 million barrels were used in the country.

“We are also using 350 million cubic meters of gas daily,” said the president, calling the increasing use of fossil fuels the main problem the country faced.

The price of oil and gas consumed in the country per year was more than the revenue gained through oil exports, i.e. 55 billion dollars, he regretted.

Ahmadinejad said the cabinet had submitted a bill to the Majlis (parliament) in a bid to prevent the illogical consumption of fuel, expressing hope the lawmakers would pass the bill.

He pointed to the clearance of beat-up vehicles, production of gas-fueled cars, and development of public transportation as the government’s measures to reduce the gasoline consumption.

Ahmadinejad predicted that the country would not need gasoline as of 2011.

He called gasoline rationing as a supplementary measure, underlining that the country was not able to spend 7 billion dollars for imports of gasoline and gas oil while a great volume of petrol was consumed in traffic jams and during unnecessary trips.

“We are trying to meet the public need in the gasoline rationing system,” he vowed.

The lavish consumption by Iranian drivers, encouraged by the subsidized prices that work out less than a comparable amount of mineral water, forces OPEC’s No. 2 producer to import billions of dollars of extra petrol annually.

A National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) official yesterday said that the daily consumption of gasoline soared to 78 million liters.

Talking to Mehr News Agency, NIOPDC planning manager Saeid Ameri added that the figure showed a two percent rise in the past few days.

He said that the daily consumption from April 21 to May 21 showed an 11.7 percent growth when compared to the figure of corresponding period in the previous year.

Ameri blamed gasoline storage by people ahead of May 22 rationing for the increase.

Deputy petroleum minister said that the gasoline quota has been defined and the cabinet would approve it today.

Mohammad-Reza Ne’matzadeh said that May 22 is the ultimate date for rationing gasoline.

Rapporteur of Energy Committee of Majlis, Seyed Abdolmajid Shoja, said no certain body or ministry was to blame for mismanagement and delay in implementing fuel smart card plan.

“The cabinet and Majlis are not expected to pass the buck for the delay as both sides are trying to fulfill their duties,” he told PIN, adding the necessary infrastructure has not been yet provided in the country, making it difficult to put the plan into practice.

Representing Dashtestan town in parliament, Shoja said had Majlis not stopped the regular increase of petrol price, the rate would have reached 1,500 rials (16 cents) in 2007, avoiding scores of existing problems.

“According to the fuel consumption bill, petrol will be supplied at its real rate within five years which means it needs to gain 850 rials (9 cents) per annum but the rise in the current year’s price will cause a 1,000 rial (10 cent) yearly growth in the commodity’s rate,” he said.

Although rationing would not start as of due time, authorized bodies deserved appreciation for timely providing and distributing just about all smart cards, said the official.

Shoja said a double-urgency plan on realistic gasoline price would be submitted to the Majlis if gasoline rationing was not implemented at due time.

“If the government fails to enforce the 2007 Budget Law on gasoline by May 22, we will present the new proposal to the Majlis,” underlined the rapporteur.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

News ID 105031

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