TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency) – Constructing new refineries in the country is not an economical way for processing crude oil because substituting natural gas for oil derivative is much cheaper and economical, an oil ministry official said here Friday.

Economic Counselor for the Ministry of Oil Mas’oud Nily said that substituting gas for oil derivatives is the Oil Ministry’s top priority.

In this way, any attempt to build new refineries would lead to more consumption of oil in low prices, the official added.

Consumption of gas for automobiles has climbed up fiercely so that it has registered an 11 per cent hike in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year of 1382 (started March 21, 2003) compared to the corresponding period the previous year.

“Making use of natural gas is the best way to overcome high consumption of gas,” Nily said. AF/IS