TEHRAN- Monthly consumption of compressed natural gas (CNG) has dropped 15 percent in Iran during the last month of the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19) from its preceding month, IRNA reported.

In General, CNG consumption has increased in Iran after the implementation of the gasoline rationing scheme in mid-November 2019, when the government increased fuel prices as it plans to use the revenue for supporting underprivileged families.

Later that month, Hassan Qolipour, the head of the CNG promotion program at the National Iranian Oil Product Distribution Company (NIOPDC) announced that CNG consumption in the country had increased by 10 percent only two weeks after the beginning of the program.

Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, head of the Planning and Budget Organization (PBO), said on November 12 that proceeds from the price hikes would be used to fund additional subsidies for 18 million underprivileged families, or about 60 million people.

There are currently 2,400 CNG stations across Iran and more than 2,478 compressors are installed in the country’s CNG stations, Qolipour announced in February.

MA/MA