Shana – Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Abbas Kazemi says after 36 years, Iran will stop gasoline imports.

Kazemi told Shana, "Regarding the refining projects on stream, this year will be final year of offloading gasoline in Iranian ports and as of next year, the import of such a strategic and high demand products' import will be stopped."

He said in the initial months of this year, 10 to 12 million liters of gasoline will be imported but for the time being, import of the product has lowered to about 4.5 to five million liters a day.

He added that the next year budget bill has envisioned no budget for gasoline import and no bill will be presented to the Parliament to license gasoline imports.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Kazemi said by end of this year on March 20, two new gasoline production projects of Bandar Abbas Refinery and Lavan will be operational and the first phase of Persian Gulf Star Refinery will be on the verge of operation.

He noted that three phases of Persian Gulf Star Refinery, as the biggest refinery of the country, will be operational by end of next Iranian year of 1396 (2017-18) with daily production capacity of 36 million liters of gasoline.