In a bid to increase its capacity to store fuel, Iran has started to empty its crude oil storage tanks. 770,000 bbl of crude was sent to the Tehran oil refinery from the Neka oil terminal in northern Iran, via the Neka-Rey 32-inch pipeline on 31 May, according to the SEO of Iranian Oil Pipelines and Telecommunication Company (IOPTC) North District, Arsalan Rahimi.
Rahimi said IOPTC and the Iranian oil ministry now have a policy to create new storage capacity for gasoline. He said the gasoline is for export to Venezuela, (an important trading partner for Iran).
Last week, Iran had the capacity to export 1.53m bbl of gasoline and alkylate to Venezuela, (which is currently suffering from a fuel crisis under US sanctions).
In February 2019, the country became self-sufficient in gasoline production, and in December 2019, as a result of a rationing scheme, spokesman Hamid Hosseini of the Iranian Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union announced that Iran could export 25m-30m l/d (157,000-189,000 bbl) of fuel.
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