Iran needs to import 22 million liters of gasoline and nine million liters of gas oil per day to meet its domestic demand.

Lavan Oil Refinery Co

TEHRAN, Jan. 17 (Mehr News Agency) - The Lavan refinery has averagely produced 1.036 million liters of gasoline per day in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (Started Mach 20, 2009).

The amount is 17.26 percent more than the estimates, the SHANA News Agency reported.

Some 49,000 liters of liquefied gas have also been produced in the lavan refinery during the mentioned period, while the country's total liquefied gas production stood at 4,045,000 liters.

Daily some 232 million liters of oil products have been produced in the domestic refineries during the 9-month period. The Lavan refinery's share accounts for 4,818,000 liters of this amount.

Domestic refineries produce some 44 million liters of gasoline and 87 million liters of gas oil per day.

Iran plans to daily import some 22 million liters of gasoline and nine million liters of gas oil by the end of the year to meet its domestic demand.

Iran is the world's fifth-largest crude exporter, but it still has to import up to 40 percent of its gasoline supplies as it lacks the refining capacity to meet domestic demand. The United States and its European allies may target fuel imports, Reuters reported.

Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi had previously said that the country is prepared to deal with any possible sanctions on its imports of gasoline that world powers might impose.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had also rejected the possibility of imposing sanctions on Iran's gasoline imports and urged the Oil Ministry to build refineries more quickly to make the country self-sufficient in gasoline production.

... Payvand News - 01/17/10 ... --