Iran’s petrol imports down 57% since introduction of rationing

Tehran: Iran’s daily gasoline imports have fallen about 57 per cent since the country introduced fuel rationing last June, a senior oil official was quoted as saying on Saturday.

The world’s fourth-largest oil producer lacks refining capacity and must therefore import large amounts of fuel, which it then sells at heavily subsidised prices. It introduced rationing to curb soaring consumption.


Deputy Oil Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh said Iran currently imported 15 million litres of gasoline per day on average, out of total daily consumption of 58.5 million litres.

“The amount of imports in the first three months of this year before rationing began was 35 million litres a day,” he was quoted by the state broadcaster as saying, referring to the Iranian year that starts on March 21.

“With gasoline rationing, in the current year, more than $4 billion has been saved,” he said without elaborating.

Gulf News