TEHRAN – Iran will inaugurate new refinery projects worth more than $3.0 billion this year, despite years of stagnation in the country’s refining sector, a senior oil official said on Saturday.

Mohammad Sadegh Azimifar, head of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) and deputy oil minister, told reporters at the 29th Iran International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition (Iran Oil Show) that the sector had seen little development over the past three years.

He said Iran, which was a gasoline exporter in 2020, has become a gasoline importer in recent years.

Azimifar also revealed that fuel reserves for power plants had declined by 43 percent at the start of the current administration, and major refinery overhauls had been delayed due to imbalances in the energy sector.

"Despite these challenges, fuel consumption by power plants has increased by 80 percent this year," he said.

He added that compressed natural gas (CNG) consumption, which stood at 23 million cubic meters per day in 2020, has fallen to 18 million cubic meters.

According to Azimifar, since the start of President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration, Iran has boosted its oil and gas production by nearly 8 million liters per day, while gasoline output has increased by 7 million liters.

The deputy minister reaffirmed that new projects worth more than $3 billion will be launched before the end of the year.

EF/MA