Iran halts gasoline exports amid rising domestic demand
An Iranian Oil Ministry official says the country has halted taking new orders for exports of gasoline as domestic demand for the fuel rises to all-time highs.
Jalil Salari, who serves as deputy oil minister for fuel production and distribution, said on Saturday that a domestic gasoline consumption of more than 100 million liters per day is not consistent with Iran's demographic pattenrs of demand.
“Considering the current circumstances our policy is to respond to the demand (for gasoline) in the country,” Salari said in response to a question by the ILNA news agency about Oil Ministry's future gasoline exports plans.
The statement is the first admission by Iranian officials in recent months about a halt to the country’s fuel exports.
Authorities had warned over the past months that rising demand for gasoline and diesel fuel would force Iran to resume imports more than decade after it declared self-sufficiency in motor fuel production.
Salari said Iran is trying to boost the technical aspects of its fuel distribution systems so that fuel is delivered to motorists in the country only based on the mileage they drive.
The senior Oil Ministry official had said on Thursday that more than 10 million liters of fuel are being smuggled out of the country every day mainly because there is a massive gap in prices between Iran and its neighboring countries.
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