Iran seeks investors to hike its refining

TEHRAN, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Iran aims to hike its crude oil refining capacity to 3.2 million barrels per day from its current 1.7 million barrels by 2012.

However, to reach that goal the Islamic republic needs $18 billion in foreign investment, said Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh, deputy oil minister and managing director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Co.

He said that production of gasoline was among the serious challenges facing Iran and that domestic "gasoline consumption has been higher than production since the victory of the Islamic revolution," IRNA reported Tuesday.

Iran has been importing gasoline over the past 20 years and that "gasoline consumption in Iran has risen considerably in the past six to seven years."