Keramat Veis Karami, the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, announced an 80% increase in the supply of fuel oil (mazut) to the country’s power plants last month due to a shortage of natural gas.
On Monday, November 4, Veis Karami stated that the supply of mazut to Iranian power plants in September and October this year had increased by 75% and 80%, respectively, compared to the same months last year.
He did not specify the current status of mazut use in power plants but mentioned that diesel delivery to power plants in November had also risen by 80% compared to last year due to a 3.8-degree drop in temperature.
Saeed Tavakoli, CEO of the National Iranian Gas Company, stated last week that Iran faces a daily gas deficit of 250 to 300 million cubic meters this year, which must be offset by supplying equivalent fuels (mazut and diesel) to power plants and industries.
Mazut is the most polluting fossil fuel, and Iranian-produced mazut is especially harmful due to its 3.5% sulfur content, which is seven times the limit set by the International Maritime Organization for tanker fuel.
The diesel fuel used in Iran’s electric power plants also does not meet Euro standards and, with its high sulfur content and low quality, produces significant pollution.
The regime’s Majlis (parliament) Research Center and the National Development Fund of Iran report that Iran faces a gas deficit throughout the year, which intensifies sharply in the autumn and especially in winter.
Veis Karami’s comments indicate that Iran has even increased mazut and diesel supplies to power plants during the warmer months, leading to an overall 38% increase in the delivery of these polluting fuels to power plants this year.
Despite the severe gas shortage and widespread use of mazut, the CEO of the National Iranian Gas Company stated that “halting gas exports is not advisable.”
On October 31, he remarked that stopping gas exports to Turkey, for instance, “could not only damage Iran’s credibility in global markets but also lead to the replacement of Iranian gas with gas from rival countries like Russia and Turkmenistan.”
He added that suspending gas exports would also reduce the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
Under this year’s budget law, the government has planned to export 11 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey and Iraq, while in next year’s budget bill, Massoud Pezeshkian’s administration aims to raise this figure to 16 billion cubic meters, projecting a revenue of 5.2 billion dollars.
Despite possessing the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves, Iran struggles to meet its domestic consumption needs.
