News / Energy

Iranian government imposes ban on gasoline, diesel transit until March

Thursday, 21 May 2020 2:15 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 21 May 2020 2:15 PM ]

File photo shows tanker trucks waiting at a customs facility in western Iran.

The Iranian government has imposed a full ban on any transit of gasoline, diesel fuel and similar hydrocarbons until late March 2021.

A decree issued by the Iranian Cabinet on Thursday said that any transit of those crude products through Iran’s territory to the neighboring countries would be banned until the end of the current calendar year.

The ban would cover all road shipments as well as consignments waiting in the Iranian ports and customs offices.

The government decree said all hydrocarbons whose trade are subject to Iran’s section 271012 tariff would be covered by the transit ban.

The ban is based on article 125 of Iran’s 2011 Customs Affairs Law and has come in a response to a proposal by the Oil Ministry.

Enforcing the new ban comes as Iran is ramping up its own exports of gasoline and other fuels amid a sharp decline in domestic consumption which has come as a result of the new coronavirus pandemic.

Recent government data suggests that demand for gasoline inside Iran has dropped to around 55 million liters per day. That is nearly a 30-percent decrease compared to November after Iran implemented fuel price hikes and around half of the consumption recorded same time in previous years.

Total production of gasoline in Iran has reached above 100 million liters per day mainly due to setting up a large refinery south of the country and development projects implemented in other refineries.

Iran oil sector avoided layoffs during pandemic: Minister

Iran’s oil minister says not a single job loss has been reported across the industry despite the pandemic.

The growth in production and exports of gasoline from Iran comes despite repeated attempts by the United States government to hamper the fuel supply in the country to cause public unrest

Reports in recent days showed that five large tankers loaded with gasoline in southern Iran were heading to Venezuela, a country also slapped with US sanctions which is seeking Iran’s assistance to rebuild its energy sector.

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