Iran to increase fuel transit to Afghanistan, Iraq

"At present we don't need to swap oil products but we can raise the volume of gasoline and gasoil transit to Iraq and Afghanistan via our country," Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Alireza Zeighami told Shana. "Currently the private sector is in charge of transiting oil products and the Iranian oil ministry plays no role in this regard," he explained. According to Zeighami, swapping fuel oil and LPG is underway as usual but NIORDC may also decide to swap gasoline and gasoil depending on its needs. On oil swaps through Neka Oil Terminal on the shore of Caspian Sea, the official noted that it is expected oil swaps, which were stopped last year due to pricing issues, be resumed this year. Because of lacking oil refining facilities, Afghanistan meets bulk of its oil products needs through neighboring countries including Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan. The country meets almost 30 percent of its oil needs through Iran and the remainder through the Central Asian countries. The statistical figures of the NIORDC show that the Islamic Republic of Iran exported 172 million liters of oil products to Afghanistan and Iraq in 2010. Iran's fuel oil swaps reached 85 thousand tons in the same year, with more than half of it coming from the country's Northern neighbors. "In general oil products' swaps vary over the year depending on the needs of the country to different fuels," Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) Jalil Salary told Shana.