Along with the announcement of a new rate, an official from the Ministry of Oil reported a 10-million-liter shortfall in gasoline

🔸Amid continuing reports of gasoline shortages in Iran and the formation of long lines outside fuel stations in various cities, an official from Iran’s Ministry of Oil said there is a 10-million-liter shortfall in gasoline consumption and production in Iran.

🔸Mohammad-Sadegh Azimi-Far, deputy minister of oil and managing director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, on Sunday night, 15 Shahrivar, in a televised interview, said that the average gasoline consumption in the first five months of this year in Iran was about 132 million liters per day, and added that the amount of refining and non-refining gasoline production has also averaged about 122 million liters per day.

🔸The ministry official, by announcing the daily deficit of about 10 million liters of gasoline on average, said that this amount “should be compensated for through imports.”

🔸The deputy minister of the Islamic Republic warned about the lack of balance between gasoline production and consumption in Iran, saying: “If consumption growth continues with this trend and production cannot increase in proportion to consumption growth, the level of imports will also follow an upward trend, and a significant portion of the country’s foreign exchange resources will be spent on importing gasoline.”

🔸The official did not explain the current conditions of gasoline imports, but in recent days various officials of the Iranian government had spoken about problems in importing gasoline to Iran, alongside the continuation of the U.S. naval blockade.

🔸Mohammad-Jafar Qaem-Panah, the executive deputy of the president of Iran, on 4 Shahrivar, had said that gasoline production is not sufficient and that with the U.S. naval blockade, we cannot import gasoline.

🔸Earlier, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian, on 25 Mordad, while acknowledging the effect of the U.S. naval blockade on Iran’s ports, had said that “the government does not have the necessary resources to import gasoline.”

🔸An energy-sector official in Iran had also announced that the country is facing restrictions on gasoline imports and that this year there has been a “significant” drawdown from gasoline reserves.

🔸Yaser Mirzaei, deputy of the Energy Optimization Organization, on Thursday 29 Mordad, told the ISNA news agency that the war in Ukraine changed market conditions and that Russia has also limited its gasoline exports due to domestic shortages.

🔸According to Mirzaei, even countries such as Belarus—which is close to Russia and previously had gasoline surpluses—are now unable to provide the gasoline Iran needs.

🔸In response to the formation of long lines outside gas pumps in different cities, Iran’s oil ministry officials, while rejecting the existence of a gasoline shortage, said that increased demand was the reason behind the formation of long lines outside fuel stations.

🔸Read the full report on the Radio Farda website.