Mansour Shakrlahi, in an interview, addressed the importance of increasing the country's refining capacity and stated: "Increasing the country's refining capacity means strengthening energy security and reducing the country's vulnerability to fuel imports." He continued: "In a situation where the country is facing currency restrictions and external pressures, increasing domestic production of gasoline and diesel can prevent the outflow of currency resources and enhance the resilience of the country's economy."
New refinery capacity and its impact on fuel production
Shakrlahi added: "If two new refineries with a total capacity of 180,000 barrels per day are added to the country's refining network and can reach operational capacity as planned, their increased production of gasoline and diesel can cover part of the gap between production and consumption." He noted that this issue represents a strategic advantage for the country and should not be considered an industrial project, but rather part of the policy for ensuring the country's energy security.
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Consumption management and parliamentary support
A member of the Energy Commission of the Parliament emphasized that energy imbalance is the result of years of lack of balance between consumption growth and production capacity development, saying: "One cannot expect that by inaugurating a few refining projects, an issue that has developed over years will be resolved overnight. If consumption growth continues, new capacities will gradually be absorbed through increased demand."
Shakrlahi continued: "The government must provide a serious and scheduled program for consumption management alongside the development of refineries. Reforming high-consumption vehicles, scrapping old cars, developing public transportation, increasing the share of CNG, and effectively implementing fuel consumption optimization policies should be among the main priorities of the Ministry of Oil and related agencies."
He also stated: "The Parliament supports increasing refining capacity and self-sufficiency in fuel production, but it is expected that the issue of imbalance should not only be pursued from the supply side, but we must also invest simultaneously in reducing consumption."
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