According to IRIB News, Saeid Rahman-Salari said Saturday that the CNG program, launched in 2001 to diversify the fuel mix and address supply imbalances, has grown to 2,365 stations nationwide with a production capacity of 40 million cubic meters per day. “Each cubic meter of CNG has the same heating value as one liter of gasoline, yet only 16 million cubic meters are currently consumed daily,” he said.

Rahman-Salari noted that there is only one CNG station for every 1,600 vehicles in Iran, while about 4.03 million cars have been converted to dual-fuel engines at factories or workshops. He said new stations are being built in cities that previously lacked access to CNG, including southern Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan, which were recently connected to the network.

 More CNG Stations Planned in Underserved Regions

He said the government plans to expand CNG station coverage in underserved areas. In the past year, the number of CNG stations in Sistan-Baluchestan increased from three to nine, and 11 more are under construction. Plans call for 50 additional stations in Sistan-Baluchestan and southern Kerman within the next two years.

Rahman-Salari emphasized the importance of the CNG industry, saying current CNG sales are equivalent to the production of several refineries. “Without CNG, gasoline demand would now be 148 million liters daily. Today, average consumption stands at about 132 million liters,” he said.

He added that CNG’s share in the national fuel mix should rise from 13 percent to about 15.07 percent by the end of 2028. CNG currently accounts for roughly 11 percent of transportation fuel. China leads the sector with nearly 6 million CNG-powered vehicles, and Iran ranks second globally with around 15 percent of its vehicles operating on dual-fuel systems.

 Local Production of Fourth-Generation Conversion Kits

Rahman-Salari said several countries — including India, Pakistan, Brazil, Argentina, Italy and Egypt — are also major CNG users. Iran now converts vehicles using fourth-generation kits, replacing older first-generation systems. Domestic knowledge-based companies have recently launched local production lines for these newer kits, and more than 85 percent of conversions now use fourth-generation equipment. “These kits give vehicles performance comparable to gasoline engines,” he said.

He added that the government opened its initial call in August for converting gasoline-only cars from model year 2018 and newer to dual-fuel systems. Another call was issued in November for vehicles from model year 2015 and up. The conversion program is government-funded, though some workshops charge small fees for additional services.

As part of the program, tanks in roughly 25,000 taxis were replaced last year, eliminating the previous backlog in the replacement system. “In just 20 days, around 20,000 successful registrations and appointments were completed,” he said.

Fifteen percent of all vehicles in Iran run on CNG. Among the country’s 312,000 taxis, about 280,000 — more than 90 percent — operate as dual-fuel vehicles.

Rahman-Salari also said steps have been taken to develop LPG fueling infrastructure. Four LPG stations are currently operating in Shahroud, Urmia, Tabriz and Tehran. “We are working to introduce LPG into the national fuel mix,” he said.