Iran plans to increase gasoline production capacity by more than 50 percent by 2012, a senior official was quoted as saying, in comments coinciding with talk of possible Western sanctions targeting its fuel imports. Iran, the world's fifth-largest crude oil exporter, lacks sufficient refining capacity to meet its domestic fuel needs and has to import up to 40 percent of its gasoline requirements.
The United States and its European allies are exploring ways of targeting fuel imports into Iran if it continues to press on with its nuclear programme. Iranian officials have repeatedly shrugged off the impact of any such measures, saying the country will still be able to meet its gasoline needs and is taking steps to increase domestic output.
Noureddin Shahnazizadeh, head of the National Refining and Distribution Company, said gasoline production would be increased by 6.4 million litres a day next year with improvements under way at the refineries in Tehran and Abadan.
In addition during the Iranian year that ends in March 2012, "four to five new projects will be put into service which will lead to a 20 million litres per day increase ... as a result of which the production of gasoline will reach 71 million litres per day." Shahnazizadeh did not give details about the projects. His comments were carried by Iran's ISNA news agency on Saturday. An increase of 26 million litres/day would represent rise of around 57pc rise compared with Iran's current gasoline output. The ISNA report did not give any consumption figures.
Despite rationing, Iran's gasoline demand is rising at some 6 percent annually as 700,000 new cars are coming onto the country's roads each year, a senior oil official said in May. Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi earlier this week warned firms that sell gasoline not to halt deliveries to Iran in response to Western sanctions moves, saying they would be dropped from its list of suppliers. The West suspects the Islamic state is covertly seeking to develop nuclear weapons, although Iran has vehemently denied it.