Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 2
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran's compressed natural gas (CNG) consumption surpassed 5.5 billion cubic meters in the first ten months of the current Iranian fiscal year (March 21, 2014-Jan. 21), Amir Vakilzadeh, an official with the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) said.
Vakilzadeh said that on average 18.5 million cubic meters of CNG is delivered to CNG stations on a daily bases during the period which lead to a reduction in gasoline consumption by an equal amount, the oil ministry's official SHANA news agency reported Feb. 2.
The Islamic Republic's total CNG consumption was around five million liters in the Iranian calendar year of 1381 (ended March 20, 2003), but the figure reached seven billion in the calendar year of 1391 (ended March 20, 2013).
Earlier, Naser Sajjadi, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, said CNG consumption has dropped in the country compared to the past two years due to its price, which is almost equal to the price of gasoline.
CNG is currently sold at the price of 4,500 rials (about 16 cent based on official rate of 27,400 rials/USD) per cubic meters.
There are over 3.7 million cars in Iran running on CNG.
Some 90 percent of the major cities' taxis, as well as 60 percent of the vehicles used in the public transportation sector, are currently using CNG.
With 17 million cars, Iran has 5,000 gas stations, while neighboring Turkey with 9 million cars has 12,800 gas stations.
There are also over 2,200 CNG stations across the country.
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