Iran Fuel Conservation Company, a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company published the figures in its news portal.
It said natural gas -- at 60% -- accounted for biggest share of the energy output and crude oil at 39% was in second place. The rest came from other sources, namely renewables and coal.
Close to 1.9 billion barrels was allocated for domestic consumption, of which 1.245 billion was used in five sectors [plus petrochemical complexes] and the rest (equivalent of 655 million barrels) was wasted, Financial Tribune reported.
Households, commercial, industry, agriculture and transportation sectors consumed an equivalent of 402 million barrels, 79 million barrels, 231 million barrels, 53 million barrels, and 320 million barrels respectively in 2016. All figures were up 7% on average compared to 2015.
Moreover, an equivalent of 160 million barrels of oil was delivered to petrochemical complexes as feedstock in the period.
Of the1.9 billion barrels allocated for domestic use, an equivalent of 655 million barrels was wasted.
Elaborating on the waste, the portal said a large portion of the energy was wasted in power plants and refineries.
Fuel consumption in Iran is over and above global standards and 40% of the energy is lost before it reaches consumers, Mohsen Delaviz the director of IFCC said.
Households consume the equivalent of 1 million barrels of oil per day, which is eight times above energy-efficient countries.
Large amounts of energy are wasted by households whereas the bulk of energy in developed countries is used in industries.
The massive energy consumption and waste are rooted in old and worn-out heating systems and poorly insulated walls.
Energy-Intensive Heaters
“Traditional heaters consume 11.5 million cubic meters of gas per day. If these are replaced by smart heaters we can save a lot,” Delaviz said.
There are 20 million traditional gas heaters in use in the winter season. Smart heaters have much lower consumption compared to the old and traditional units.
The official pointed to his company’s plan to replace 150,000 heaters in schools by the end of 2021.
National Iranian Gas Company paid $96 million between 2015-17 to the Organization for the Development, Renovation and Equipping of Schools affiliated to the Education Ministry to help renovate schools in the deprived regions.
As per law, NIGC must pay the Education Ministry 20% of its revenue to be spent on building schools, renovate old schools and get rid of kerosene heaters that have created disaster in classrooms and killed schoolchildren in the past several years.
Old and unsafe heaters are still used despite repeated promises by education officials that all classrooms would have safe heating systems.
There are classes in deprived regions like Sistan-Baluchistan that lack proper heating systems and innocent schoolchildren are sometimes trapped in fires due to malfunctioning heaters.
In addition, to help curb energy consumption and waste, outdated industries too need to improve energy efficiency of machinery and production systems.
Energy waste and unacceptably high consumption rates are highly critical issues that need to be dealt with sooner rather than later.
Experts have warned that Iran will turn into a major energy importer within a few years if the problem of unusually high consumption is not resolved soon.