Abbas Kazemi, former CEO of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, stated that Abadan Refinery “instead of supplying fuel to power plants, has offered 400 to 500 million liters of diesel, needed for winter reserves, on the stock exchange,” resulting in a depletion of diesel reserves.
In an interview with the state-run ILNA news agency, Kazemi described the sale of diesel on the stock exchange as “legal,” but he criticized it as lacking in “foresight and planning.”
It is noteworthy that according to domestic laws, refinery products are considered part of national assets. Therefore, the sale of diesel on the Tehran Stock Exchange, if it leads to a reduction in strategic reserves and harms national interests, can be legally pursued.
Kazemi explained that in past years, fuel reserves were built up between May and September to use diesel during winter when gas pressure drops and household consumption rises.
According to him, this process was not implemented this summer, and 1.3 billion liters of diesel were offered on the stock exchange over four to five months, of which 450 million liters were sold.
This is despite the fact that, according to this former oil official, refinery production has been at normal levels, and there have been no issues in terms of production.
Kazemi claimed that diesel production and consumption are currently balanced and added, “If this consumption trend continues, we will become a diesel importer.”
The claim by this former government official about the sale of national diesel reserves on the stock exchange comes amid reports of alarming increases in fuel prices.
It was previously announced that under the Seventh Development Plan bill, which has been submitted to the Guardian Council for final approval, as of the second year of the plan (2025), subsidized diesel will be distributed only based on mileage and online freight documents, with any excess subject to incremental consumption taxes.
Several experts have stated that any manipulation of gasoline and diesel prices will exacerbate economic pressures and disrupt political and social relations in Iran.
In recent days, blackouts at power plants and electricity rationing across cities have disrupted people’s lives. These outages are reportedly due to fuel shortages in a country that possesses the world’s second-largest gas reserves and fourth-largest oil reserves.
