Iran is to increase its gasoline production to a record high of 50 million liters per day by autumn, an Iranian oil official has said.

“The production capacity of Iran’s Abadan refinery will increase from the current nine million liters per day to around 17 million by the incoming fall,” said the head of Abadan Oil Refining Company, Alireza Abhaji.
Abhaji added that considering the production increase by the Abadan oil refinery, the total gasoline production in Iran will reach 50 million liters per day, an unprecedented achievement in the history of the Iranian oil industry.
An Abadan Refinery official said earlier in May that the project should enable the refinery to increase such products as petrol, diesel propylene and some gases used in the petrochemical industries.
Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister Noureddin Shahnazizadeh said recently that the country plans to construct seven new oil refineries at a cost of $27 billion by 2013.
“After the inauguration of these seven refineries, the production capacity of the country in gasoline and diesel will increase by 190 and 180 million liters per day respectively,” he said.
The move is aimed at increasing Iran’s refining capacity in an attempt to cut gasoline imports.
The official’s remarks came as the U.S. Senate has voted to sanction companies that ship gasoline and other refined oil products to Iran, in an attempt to step up measures against the Islamic Republic for the pursuit of its uranium enrichment program.
Iran possesses some of the world’s largest oil reserves, but currently imports 40 percent of its gasoline to meet growing demand.
(Source: Press TV)