VP says gov’t bent on battling fuel smuggling
Iran’s vice president said the current administration is seriously committed to preventing fuel smuggling and tackling the fuel mafia while considering these issues vital to the country.
Mohammadreza Aref made the remarks during a meeting with members of the country’s Reformist Front, according to Shana.
He emphasized that for the country to be saved, there is no alternative to embracing a reformist discourse, adding that officials must adhere to the principles of national unity.
Aref also addressed national shortages, including the electricity crisis, stating that one effective strategy to address these deficits is to move towards renewable energy, particularly solar power.
He highlighted that the current administration has planned and taken necessary actions to generate electricity from these sources.
The vice president also urged specialists, managers, and academic experts to contribute solutions and support the government in this effort.
Hike in diesel output
Meanwhile on Saturday, a senior official from the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) announced an increase of 15 million liters in the country’s daily diesel production over the four months of the new government’s term.
Mohammadali Dadvar, a deputy head of NIORDC reported that the average daily production of diesel in the first five months of the current Iranian year (started March 20) was approximately 111 million liters, which has now risen to over 125 million liters.
He also expressed hope that the new units at the Abadan Refinery, which are set to come online within the next two months, will add more than three million liters of Euro 5 diesel to the country’s fuel supply, raising daily production to approximately 128 to 130 million liters.
Dadvar underlined that the increase in production is a hopeful sign that the country can endure the winter with less concern.
Since President Masoud Pezeshkian assumed office in late August, one of the major priorities for the new management at the company has been ensuring winter fuel supplies, he said, adding that the goal was achieved by addressing bottlenecks, increasing feedstock to the country’s refineries by over 100,000 barrels per day, improving operational conditions, utilizing the idle capacity of catalytic cracking units, and bringing the hydrocracker at the Abadan Refinery online.