China to upgrade Iran's refinery in $2.7 billion deal

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

NICOSIA — Teheran has signed another major energy deal with leading energy client China which will alleviate Iran's gasoline shortage problems.

Officials said Teheran signed a $2.7 billion oil refinery upgrade deal with China to expand Iran's gasoline supply. They said China's Sinopec would increase capacity at the Arak refinery from 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day to 250,000 barrels.

"Currently, Arak refinery produces about six million liters of petrol a day, and when the upgrade operation is done the figure will reach about 16 million liters," Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh said.

Nematzadeh said the project would be completed by 2010. Iran produces 40 million liters of gasoline per day, 55 percent of its daily consumption.

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Oil-rich Iran faces gasoline rationing

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, June 26, 2006

Iran plans to ration gasoline.

Officials said Iran, hampered by a shortfall in funding, would halt the import of 200,000 barrels per day of gasoline on Sept. 23, 2006. They said no decision has been made on when to begin gasoline rationing.

Despite its status as the fourth largest oil producer in the world, Iran lacks refining capacity to meet the nation's fuel needs.

The announcement to end gasoline imports — most of it from Western Europe — stemmed from a decision by parliament to reduce the budget for gasoline imports to $2.5 billion from $4 billion, Middle East Newsline reported.

A key parliamentarian has already dismissed the prospect of rationing in the near term.

"Next week will be time to decide when we start rationing," Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh said on June 23.

"Because there is no budget for importing gasoline in the second half of the year, naturally imports will be stopped and gasoline will be supplied by rationing."

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