Press TV - Iran says a major refinery project that it put on stream on Thursday would make it immune to US sanctions against its purchases of gasoline.

Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted by media as saying that the Islamic Republic had no major concern about the sanctions after Phase Two of Persian Gulf Star Refinery became operational.

Zanganeh emphasized that the project showed “external pressures” would not work on Iran.

He said Iran was previously vulnerable to pressures over supplies of gasoline, but said Iran’s gasoline supply status had already been stabilized now that production had increased by a collective of 24 million liters per day from the two phase of Persian Gulf Star Refinery.

President Hassan Rouhani travelled to the southern port city of Bandar Abbas to inaugurate Phase Two of Persian Gulf Star Refinery which has a production capacity of 12 million liters per day of Euro 4 and Euro 5 premium gasoline.

In his remarks at the project’s inauguration ceremony, Rouhani said Iran needed to do more to address what he described as the runway gasoline consumption which he said stood at 80 million liters per day.

He said the completion of the Persian Gulf Star Refinery would be a major step toward answering the country’s gasoline consumption needs.

The Refinery feeds on condensate supplies from South Pars and its total production is expected to increase to as high as 36 million liters per day when the third phase becomes complete before next April.

Officials have already said the project could make Iran self-sufficient over its gasoline needs and would even enable the country to become an exporter of the strategic fuel.