and the Majlis deputy quoted as saying Iran is doing so now insists he was misunderstood by the media.
Deputy Nasser Sudani, vice chairman of the Majlis Energy Committee, was quoted last week as saying the country was importing gasoline. (See last week’s Iran Times, page five.) He gave considerable detail, which left little room for misunderstanding. The Mehr news agency quoted him as saying gasoline was being imported for two reasons—first, because of a shortage of production since an explosion in May at the Abadan refinery, and, second, in order to mix higher octane imports with lower octane Iranian gasoline.
He said the imports would likely end by Now Ruz.
But Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has now denied there are any gasoline imports, a very sensitive topic in Iran. Qasemi said, “We currently do not have the need to Import gasoline, but we may import some required chemicals to produce gasoline.”
The regime announced last September that it was self-sufficient in gasoline production and would no longer import gasoline. It has adhered to that line ever since then, although the International Oil Daily reported in June that Iran was actually importing 8.5 million liters of gasoline daily or about 15 percent of its consumption.
The issue of gasoline imports became sensitive politically last summer after the US Congress passed legislation to authorize sanctions on firms selling Iran refined oil products. It has been politically important for the Islamic Republic to show that the US sanctions have had no impact.
After the oil minister denied the imports, Deputy Sudani denied every saying that gasoline was being imported. “I do not confirm the report regarding gasoline imports,” Sudani was quoted by state television as saying. “Unfortunately, the report was published based on a misinterpretation by some media.”
Sudani’s remarks had resonance with many drivers who have been complaining about engine knock and rough engine performance, saying that suggests the state produced gasoline has a lower octane rating than officially claimed. The Iranian media, however, have not had gasoline samples tested.
But Sudani isn’t the only official to broach the issue of gasoline imports. The chairman of his committee, Deputy Hamid-Reza Katuzian, told the Iranian Students News Agency days before Sudani spoke out that the government ought to be importing gasoline, though he did not say it was. “We are faced with a shortage of gasoline,” he said, pointing to limited production capacity and higher demand during the summer months. “This requires the government to import some gasoline,” he said.
The Sharq daily quoted experts as saying gasoline reserves were abysmally low because the regime was refusing to import gasoline.
Oil Minister Qasemi not only denied importing any gasoline and denied the need to import any, but also boasted that Iran would soon become a major exporter of gasoline once Iran’s much-delayed refinery expansion program boosts gasoline output.
Iranian gasoline consumption averages about 58 million liters a day, down from 66 million before prices were hiked in December. Production used to be 44 million liters a day. Current production is anyone’s guess—and officials are giving all sorts of numbers. The government says production will reach 186 million liters daily once the expansion plan is completed in five years.
The government announced the export of its first gasoline consignment last September. And it now requires Afghanistan to buy Iranian refined products by forbidding tankers from Iraq and Turkmenistan to cross the Iranian border any more.
