Daily CNG Use Rises From 14.7 Million to 16.7 Million Cubic Metres While Gasoline Use Falls by 10 Million Litres a Day

Emad Rafiei, director of consumption affairs at the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, said on the "Miz-e Eghtesad" programme (reported by Mehr on 20 Mehr 1405, October 12, 2026), referring to the government-approved gasoline price rise to 10 thousand tomans, that daily CNG consumption has risen from 14.7 million cubic metres in Mordad to 16.7 million cubic metres. At the same time daily gasoline consumption has fallen from 144 million litres to 134 million litres. He added that gasoline consumption growth this month is 3 percent over the same period last year, against 5 to 6 percent in earlier months, and called the trend promising for the country.

Mostafa Nakhaei, a member of parliament's energy committee, said on the same programme that the country's nominal CNG consumption capacity is 40 million cubic metres a day and that consumption is now about 17 million cubic metres. The chairman of the national CNG association put the capacity of stations that could be activated at 35 to 40 million cubic metres a day and said that, with parts of the network 15 to 25 years old, some stations need renewal. Nakhaei cited about 2,500 CNG stations and said that in parts of Sistan and Baluchestan and South Khorasan people must travel up to about 150 kilometres to reach a station.

These figures are officials' statements and no independent data accompanies them. Still, a shift of some demand from gasoline to CNG matters for the country's energy balance, because current consumption is still less than half of available capacity.