Iran's liquefied petroleum gas shipments has risen by 50% to reach 310,000 tons per month, largely to Asia, since 2021.
Oil Minister Javad owji made the statement in a parliamentary hearing last week over criticisms concerning LPG distribution among households and car drivers, IRNA reported.
“Iran’s monthly LPG output stands at 360,000 tons, of which close to 50,000 tons are distributed in the domestic sector and the rest is exported, showing a 50% rise compared to 2020,” he said.
Giving a breakdown, he noted that of the total daily output (12,000 tons), oil refineries, gas refining complexes and petrochemical plants account for 2.3 million tons, 5.7 million tons and 4 million tons of the production respectively.
There are around two million households, mostly in the southern provinces of Sistan-Baluchestan and Kerman, which are not linked to the national gas grid and need LPG for cooking and heating.
The liquid gas can also be used for vehicles in the public transportation sector instead of diesel. Its advantage is that it is a cleaner fuel.
LPG accounts for 2% of the fuel used in the domestic transportation sector. There are at least 1.2 million cars equipped with LPG kits across the country.
Although adding LPG to the fuel basket will reduce gasoline consumption by 15 million liters per day, which can be exported, the Oil Ministry is against it.
Since each ton of LPG can be sold at $500 in international markets and there is high international demand for it, it is more profitable to export it.
Iran's LPG exports have been around 310,000 tons per month recently.