A top Iranian oil official said on Tuesday the fuel-hungry nation has exported its first shipment of domestically made petrol, three weeks after declaring it could now make enough to satisfy local needs. "The first shipment of Iranian petrol has been exported," Ali Asghar Arshi, head of National Iranian Oil Company's international operations, was quoted as saying by the oil ministry's news agency, Shana.
Arshi did not provide details such as the quantity of the shipment, when it was made and to whom, but added that such exports of petrol will continue. Iran on September 7 said it had achieved self-sufficiency in petrol production after it put in place what it said was an emergency plan to meet its needs.
Iran is the second-largest oil producer in Opec and holds around 10 percent of world oil reserves, but has been highly dependent on petrol imports because of its limited refining capacity. Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi said last week that Iran's daily petrol production had reached 66.5 million litres, more than the national requirement of 64 million litres.
Iran's petrol imports are targeted in the latest round of sanctions imposed by world powers over Tehran's disputed uranium enrichment programme. World powers fear Iran's nuclear ambitions harbour a weapons project, a charge vehemently denied by Tehran. Ahead of the June sanctions imposed by UN Security Council, several Western companies including Total, Shell, and Vitol stopped supplying petrol to the Islamic republic.