Iran’s petrol price hike cuts fuel use by 20 million liters

Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh says the government’s introduction of petrol rationing and price hikes this month has cut gasoline consumption by about 20 million liters per day.

Zangeneh’s announcement Wednesday after attending a cabinet session came as media reports said more than 70 lawmakers had signed an impeachment motion against him.

In September, Zangeneh said Iranian gasoline production stood at 105 million liters per day, or around 660,000 barrels per day (bpd), while consumption was around 100,000 bpd.

Iran exported gasoline this year for the first time, but cheap pump prices have Iranian officials expecting new record demand at a time when the country is grappling with the most restrictive US sanctions.

The Islamic Republic provides some of the most heavily subsidized petrol in the world, with the pump price previously standing at just 10,000 rials (less than nine US cents) a liter.

According to director of corporate planning at the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company Alireza Arman Moghadam, the gasoline saved from the price hike is equivalent to three times the capacity of Tehran oil refinery or a 750,000-barrel capacity refinery. 

Gasoline in Iran still remains among the cheapest in the world - only Venezuela’s and Sudan’s are lower - after the government raised pump prices by at least 50 percent this month.

SS