Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.12
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran has bought 12 tankers since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2013) to boost liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) under the international sanctions, the Mehr News Agency reported on January 12.
The tankers are mostly second-hand and have been purchased by the Iranian private sector.
Under the sanctions, Iran has decided to boost LPG exports to Asian buyers through adding new tankers to its fleet.
Iran has exported 200,000 barrels of LPG per day in the current Iranian year, according to the statistics.
For the time being, LPG has a 5 percent share in the fuel basket of cars in Iran, according to the report.
Former Iranian Deputy Oil Minister, Alireza Zeighami said in April 2013 that Iran is currently producing 12.5 million liters of LPG per day, up from nine million liters in 2005.
The country has become self-sufficient in the production of LPG.
In the past few years LPG was one of Iran's most profitable oil products for export. But the official statistics released by the country's Customs Administration show that in the first seven months of the current calendar year (which started on March 21) Iran totally exported 491,000 tons of liquefied propane worth $455 million.
The figure shows a 40.68 percent decrease compared to the same period of the previous year. Tehran also exported 483,000 tons of butane worth $432 million in the mentioned period, which is 29.68 percent less than in the same period of last year.
Official reports from Iran in January stipulated that by development of Fajr-e-Jam gas refinery's units, the country has managed to increase its liquid gas production to 14.5 million liters. But the refinery's new units have not completely come on stream yet.
Iran's real liquid gas production currently stands at 12.5 million liters. According to Iran's Customs Administration reports, the country exported 2.5 million tons of propane worth over $2 billion in the year to March 2012. The country also exported 1.578 million tons of butane worth $1.32 billion in the mentioned period.
