TEHRAN -- The country's per capita crude energy supply has risen from the equivalent of three barrels of crude in 1348 (March 1969-March 1970) to 13.5 barrels last year (ended March 20), said Minister of Energy Habibollah Bitaraf here on Tuesday.

Addressing the National Congress on Culture, Education and Optimal Use of Energy, Bitaraf further said that the final per capita consumption of energy in the country which stood at the equivalent of 2.4 barrels of crude in 1348 rose to 10.3 barrels last year.

The minister added that one cannot necessarily attribute the entire rise in supply and consumption of crude energy in the country to the rising trend of living standards or to prosperity of society because during the period in question Iran's gross domestic product (GDP) enjoyed just a yearly average rise of 3.7 percent in real terms.

Bitaraf added that the rise in energy consumption in the country is partly to be blamed on irrational and non-optimal use of energy by domestic consumers.

Bringing in mind the important role of energy in shaping the eco-social structure of the country, scarcity of fossil fuels, population growth and increasing trend of energy consumption, Bitaraf said that measures should be taken to optimize the use of energy in the country and curb its growth rate so as not to surpass that of the country's gross domestic production (GDP).

Of the total energy consumed in the country last year, he said just 1.7 percent were from renewable energy sources while the remaining 98.3 percent were from fossil fuels adding up to the final consumption of the equivalent of 647 million barrels of crude in the previous year (1378).

Earlier the Secretary of the National Congress on Culture, Education and Optimal Use of Energy, Majid Saffarinia, told IRNA that the optimum use of energy will cut the level of domestic consumption by over $4 billion a year.

Saffarinia added that Iranians consume $12 billion worth of fuel domestically every year.

Iran owns 15 percent of the world's gas reserves and 9 percent of its oil reserves, a fact that possibly is behind the country's indifference toward the excessive domestic consumption of fuel, the official stressed.

Failure to take measures to optimize the use of energy products in the country has contributed to the increasing volume of energy consumed daily, Saffarinia said, adding that the rate of growth in energy consumption in Iran stands at 0.6 percent, 0.2 percent higher than the world figure and two times more than that of developing countries on average.

The one-day National Congress on Culture, Education and Optimal Use of Energy opened in Tehran on Tuesday.

The congress, organized by the Ministry of Energy, was convened to review a number of articles sent in by economic experts, researchers and scientists from across the country.

The congress has also scheduled speeches to be delivered by various officials and experts, particularly in the field of energy, who are participating in the one-day gathering.

(IRNA)