Iran claims self-sufficiency in gasoline

TEHRAN, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Daily gasoline production in Iran has increased to the level that the country has become self-sufficient, the Iranian oil minister said.

The U.N. Security Council in June passed sanctions on Iran as punishment for a controversial nuclear program. The United States and the European Union followed suit, passing unilateral sanctions that target Iran's energy sector.

Iran was forced to rely on imports to meet a substantial portion of its energy needs. A development agenda outlined by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, however, put the country's focus on rebuilding the infrastructure in the energy sector.

Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mir Kazemi said gasoline production was up 50 percent for the year, which means Iran no longer has to rely on imports for its fuel needs, the semiofficial Mehr News Agency reports.

"In view of the recent conditions in the wake of the sanctions and the mischievousness of some sellers in increasing gasoline price, the increased production of this product began at the (refining) units 20 days ago," he added.

More than $1.5 billion, meanwhile, was targeting new exploration of oil and gas fields, the minister added.