Iranian Minister of Petroleum Javad Owji has warned about the country’s gasoline production nearing refining capacity which has given rise to speculations that Iran may have to resume imports of gasoline once again.
The outbreak of the coronavirus disease has led to a change in the behaviors of fuel consumers but as the COVID restrictions are gradually easing, gasoline consumption is increasingly growing.
Official figures suggest that gasoline consumption in Iran has even reached a record 120 million liters per day.
The warning about the possibility of gasoline imports by the petroleum minister comes while one of his deputies Jalil Salari categorically ruled out such a possibility two months ago.
Salari had said that Iran had no plans for imports of gasoline.
Abdolreza Amini, an oil expert, confirmed that gasoline consumption in Iran has increased following the COVID vaccinations and the easing of the restrictions while he still believed that the country will not become an importer of gasoline in the short term.