Figures by Iranian Oil Ministry’s fuel department (NIORDC) shows gasoline use in the country has reached a new record just before a two-week travel season marking the start of the Persian New Year.
NIORDC figures cited in a Saturday report by the official IRNA news agency showed daily gasoline consumption in Iran had reached more than 115 million liters on March 17.
The report said the figure was way higher than an average daily consumption of 104.5 million liters reported for the calendar year to March 20.
It said gasoline consumption could reach new records over the two holiday weeks to April 2 when many Iranians use personal cars for long road journeys.
However, the report quoted deputy oil minister Jalil Salari as saying that there are no concerns about additional supplies of gasoline needed during the busy Nowruz travel season in Iran.
“Despite record consumptions, we have been able to supply up to 130 million liters per day of gasoline through management of fuel supply and distribution systems,” said Salari who also serves as head of the NIORDC.
Iran is a still an exporter of gasoline despite continued American pressure on the country's plans to develop its petroleum sector.
tThat comes as a new expansion phase in Iran’s flagship Abadan Refinery was launched on Friday to increase gasoline output capacity in the facility to 14 million liters per day.