Iran claims more refining capacity

Iran’s oil minister said Saturday the country has boosted its refining capacity by 2 million liters of fuel per day, claiming it was a sign of growing self-sufficiency in the face of international sanctions.

Though Iran is the second-largest oil producer in OPEC, its lack of sizable refining capacity makes it dependent on imports of fuel and other refined products. Some of the sanctions in response to Iran’s nuclear activities are aimed at blocking those imports.

The official IRNA news agency quoted Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi as saying the refining increase was the result of several years of expansion projects.

He said fuel consumption dropped to 46 million liters in January from more than 60 million in November.

Iran’s economy has taken a hit, with high inflation and unemployment. In an attempt to manage the economic dip, Iran cut energy subsidies in December.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9L6MN3G0.htm