TEHRAN - Iran's Deputy Oil Minister and Head of National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) Mohammad-Sadegh Azimifar says the work is underway to increase Iran's gasoline production to 129 million liters per day by the end of the country’s seventh National Development Plan (2027), Shana reported.

“Increasing the production of high-quality products by utilizing the capacity of existing refineries and completing priority projects that have higher progress is on the agenda of the National Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company so that we can achieve the goals of the [Seventh National Development] plan,” Azimifar said in a conference on Wednesday.

“By prioritizing and using the available resources to the maximum, we can achieve the goal set for an increase in production,” he added.

Azimifar stated that increasing production requires increasing productivity in refineries and focusing on fruitful projects with high progress, saying: “Diversification of the fuel portfolio is one of the actions that are on the agenda. In recent years, CNG consumption has decreased from 24 million cubic meters per day to 19 million cubic meters per day, and we have neglected the capacity of CNG.”

The official further noted that a large amount of consumption can be reduced by preventing the smuggling of petroleum products and fuel.

Back in August, the Head of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Jalil Salari said with the implementation of the gasoline quality improvement plan of Shiraz Refinery, 71 percent of the country’s gasoline output will be under Euro 5 standards.

According to Salari, Shiraz Refinery is currently producing 1.6 million liters of gasoline on a daily basis which will be added to the country’s Euro 5 production after the mentioned plan becomes operational, Shana reported.

Referring to the average daily production of 105 million liters of gasoline in the country, he said: “Currently, 68 percent of the country's total gasoline is produced in accordance with Euro 5 environmental standards, which will increase to about 71 percent after the addition of 1.6 million liters of gasoline from the Shiraz refinery.”

EF/MA