Iran Gasoline Consumption at 80 ml/d in 1 Month

Gasoline used in the period observed a 7.9% rise compared with the corresponding period of previous fiscal year (ended March 20, 2017), during which 74.3 ml/d of gasoline were consumed, Mehr News Agency reported.

Tehran is the top contributor to the hike, registering an average consumption of 12.5 ml/d.

North Khorasan, Mazandaran and Gilan are also among provinces that have the highest gasoline consumption levels, as they normally host the largest number of travelers throughout the year, Financial Tribune reported.

The data on diesel consumption also indicate a hike, however milder. Some 82.5 million liters of diesel have been consumed daily on average during the similar period, showing a 3.7% year-on-year jump. 

Iranians on average consumed 74 million liters of gasoline per day in the previous fiscal. The government had to import 12 ml/d to meet demand.

  Acceptable Quality

Amid growing concerns over fuel quality and its contribution to the worsening air pollution in major cities, both gasoline and diesel distributed in Tehran meet the required standards, the head of Education Office at the Department of Environment quoted NIOPDC as saying.

"According to NIOPDC, the gasoline offered in the city of Tehran and the diesel distributed in the whole province follow Euro-4 standards," Kioumars Kalantari was also quoted as saying by DOE's official website on Monday.

Based on published reports, Tehran, Shiraz, Ahvaz, Karaj, Isfahan, Arak and Mashhad are now receiving over 20 million liters of Euro-4 gasoline per day.

However, despite NIOPDC's assurances to the DOE over the quality of Euro-4 gasoline distributed in mega cities, the survey recently conducted on Tehran's gas stations revealed high proportion of sulfur in several cases.

Mohammad Rastegari, deputy for environmental monitoring at DOE, said on Monday the sulfur present in gasoline is ought to be lower than 50 parts per million while in several cases, the number stands at 80-90.

"In one case, the station offered gasoline with a sulfur level of 4,000 ppm," he said. However, the study indicates a considerable improvement in several critical factors, including benzene and aromatic chemical.

Based on agreements between DOE and NIOPDC, Rastegari said, "A new survey will be carried out on the issue in the capital city by the [fiscal] yearend [March 20], the results of which will be announced early next year."