According to Shana, crude processing capacity was 1.1 million bpd in 1974 but plunged to 751,000 bpd in the 1980s when Iraq invaded Iran. After the military hostilities ended in 1988 oil processing capacity was restored and has now registered a record 1.95 bpd.
Compared to the years between 1974 and 1976 when gasoline output was 14 million liters per day, the current production level at around 90 million liters per day shows a 6.5-fold rise, Shana added.
Referring to fuel import, the Oil Ministry's news portal said between1974 and 1976 there was no need for imports. But with the rapid increase in the number of cars, gasoline import became inevitable climbing to 4 million and 17 million liters a day in 1987 and 2008 respectively, according to Financial Tribune.
From 2008 onwards there was a downward trend and in 2016 daily imports were in the range of 10 million liters.
Construction of the Persian Gulf Star Refinery in Bandar Abbas in southern Hormozgan Province helped in cutting gasoline import to 6 million liters per day in 2018.
Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said recently gasoline needs are now fully met by domestic refineries and as output peaked imports ended in the summer of last year. According to reports, gasoline production has reached 105 million liters per day.
Similar Pattern
"Diesel output has soared by 300% over the last 40 years," Shana noted, adding that daily diesel output amounts to 100 million liters -- a 4-fold rise compared to 1974.
Surprisingly, diesel consumption has experienced almost the same pattern in the period.
Giving a breakdown on diesel exports, Shana noted that the National Iranian Oil Company started diesel export in 1993. Outgoing volumes reached 4.3 million liters per day in 2016.
It must be recalled that NIOC was importing between 1 and 10 million liters of this fuel per day on average between 1974 and 1993. Diesel cars are banned in Iran for almost half a century and the eco-unfriendly fuel is used largely by heavy vehicles and industries.
Export of other oil derivatives, namely naphtha, diesel, bitumen, sulfur, LPG and jet fuel at 40 million liters per day has risen by 40% over the last four decades.
In the past 13 years, Iran’s consumption of compressed natural gas has also witnessed a 11-fold increase, the news agency said.
Daily CNG consumption more than a decade ago was 2.3 million cubic meters. With the development of infrastructure, rising production of CNG-powered cars and expansion of CNG stations across the country, it has reached 21 million cubic meters, saving 20 million liters of gasoline per day.