uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20070527/twl-uk-iran-gasoline-20 -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 5/27/2007
Last Visited: 5/28/2007
Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, head of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, said a "tremendous rate of increase in consumption" sparked by heavily subsidised petrol and a decade of underinvestment in the refining industry had forced Iran to buy gasoline and gas oil on world markets.
The No. 2 OPEC producer said it would ration gasoline from around June 5, after a two week delay, to reduce dependence on expensive imports at a time when world powers are threatening tougher sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme.
"We will gradually decrease by about 30 percent, but it will not happen suddenly," Nematzadeh told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference organised by Iran's Ravand Institute for Economic and International Studies.
...
Iran is now importing roughly 34 million litres per day of gasoline, up from 30 million litres per day in the Iranian year to March, Nematzadeh said.
...
Iran embarked on a multibillion dollar, five-year programme last year to revamp and expand the refining system to 3 million barrels per day (bpd), up from 1.6 million bpd now, Nematzadeh said.
"I've always been pro-investment in refining.I wish we could have invested more during the past five years," he said.
But lower oil prices and poor refining margins postponed the decision-making process, he added.
Nematzadeh, also deputy oil minister, said he hoped to sign ,7 billion (3.5 billion pounds) in new contracts this year after striking ,6 billion worth of deals last year.