Ebtekar quotes the Minister of Oil as having said, during the previous year the production of gasoline increased by nearly 25 million liters and reached 87 million liters per day. Thus, considering the annual 8% growth in fuel consumption, even if sanctions were to return, Iran will not have problems in providing fuel. He added, in the near future, the second phase of the Persian Gulf Star Oil Refinery will become operational, producing an additional 12 million liters of Euro 5 gasoline.
The Minister again emphasized that fluctuation in the price of oil is damaging to OPEC, while a stable 60 USD/b price per barrel would benefit members. Mr. Zangeneh believes that the cooperation of certain OPEC members with the US has led to an increase in the price of oil in order to make the extraction of shale oil financially feasible. Nevertheless, in order to validate the prices OPEC is blamed: “There isn’t an ounce of honesty in him (Trump)”.
