TEHRAN – Iran delivered 21.8 billion liters of liquid fuel to power plants in the previous Iranian year 1403 (ended in late March), marking a 40 percent increase compared to the previous year, a senior oil official said on Saturday.

Mohammad Sadegh Azimifar, head of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), made the announcement during a press conference at the 29th Iran International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition.

Azimifar noted that last year was a turbulent year for the refining industry, but over 160,000 workers continued to operate round the clock across Iran's fuel supply chain.

He said that under President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration, average daily production rose by over 8 million liters for diesel and more than 7 million liters for gasoline. He added that part of this increase was achieved through process optimization in existing refineries.

The deputy oil minister stressed that a seven percent jump in overall fuel consumption had pushed the country to become a net importer of petroleum products.

EF/MA