TEHRAN - Iran’s Petroleum Minister Javad Owji says exports of petroleum products from the country including fuel will resume within the next two weeks amid plans by the refiners to ramp up output to respond to a growing domestic demand and to increase overseas shipments.
Owji said in remarks made in the Iranian parliament that fuel exports will be launched once the Oil Ministry is ensured that supplies will be enough to meet demand inside the country over the upcoming cold months.
Iran briefly halted exports of gasoline in mid-summer to boost supplies in its storage houses. Reports in September suggested the country had increased its gasoline storage capacity to 3 billion liters, a surge of nearly 70% compared to figures reported earlier this year.
The halt also came amid official reports showing that dogmatic demand for gasoline had increased significantly to a record of 109 million liters per day in the early summer days.
That caused concern in the Oil Ministry where authorities had robust plans for increasing gasoline exports amid Iran’s efforts to compensate for losses suffered in direct crude sales because of American sanctions.
Iran has become a net exporter of gasoline less than a decade after the country was grappling with fuel shortages because of a previous round of sanctions on its nuclear program.
Owji said Iran will continue to increase its fuel production capacity to boost export revenues.
“With plans in the Oil Ministry and efforts made in the government we look for a surge in the country’s refining capacity so that it will reach 1.4 million tons per day in the next four to five years,” said the minister.