Iran says it has boosted gasoline production
Updated: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Photographer: WashingtonTV
Massoud Mirkazemi, Iran's Oil Minister
12:30GMT—7:30AM/EST
Washington, 17 November (WashingtonTV)—Iran’s Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi said on Tuesday that Iran had temporarily increased its gasoline production, to show Western powers that Tehran could cope with possible sanctions targeting its gasoline imports.
Speaking at a news conference in Tehran, Mirkazemi said the move to raise output by 14 million liters per day increased total output to 58.5 million liters, reports the official IRNA news agency.
He said that the higher production level was being carried out at three southern petrochemical plants and would only last for a few days, but asserted that all of the country’s petrochemical plants would be able to boost their production.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is effectively making the issue of gasoline sanctions ineffective,” he told reporters, according to the Shana news agency.
The oil minister noted that the cost of producing gasoline at those three sites exceeded the international price, making clear that it was not economical in the long run.
While Iran is the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter, a lack of refining capacity forces it to import as much as 40 percent of its gasoline needs.
US lawmakers are pushing legislation that would sanction foreign companies that sell gasoline to Iran, in a bid to put pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program.
Mirkazemi said that Iran faced no problems in importing gasoline, as it had a good list of suppliers. The country also has at least 1.7 billion liters in storage at all times, he said.
“If a company exercises the sanctions, it will be removed from Iran’s list of suppliers. Still, the number of gasoline suppliers to Iran has increased,” he told reporters.
He asserted that despite all restrictions on Iran’s energy sector in the past 30 years, the country has “become stronger”.
Sources: IRNA, Shana news agency
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