BBC: Iran fuel rations spark violence ( In Tehran )

BBC ^ | Wednesday, 27 June 2007, 09:04 GMT 10:04 UK | BBC Staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Iran fuel rations spark violence

There were angry protests as people rushed to buy petrol

Several petrol stations have been torched in the Iranian capital Tehran, after the government announced fuel rationing for private vehicles.

Windows were smashed and stones thrown at the stations, and there was traffic chaos as motorists queued to buy fuel.

Iranians were given only two hours' notice of the move that limits private drivers to 100 litres of fuel a month.

Despite its huge energy reserves, Iran lacks refining capacity and it imports about 40% of its petrol.

Rationing is not bad by itself but it must be organised... one cannot announce at 9pm that the rationing would start at midnight, they should have announced the exact date days earlier Tehran motorist Q&A: Iran petrol rationing

Iran has a large budget deficit largely caused by fuel subsidies and the inflation rate is estimated at 20-30%.

The BBC Tehran correspondent Frances Harrison says Iran is trying to rein in fuel consumption over fears of possible UN sanctions over its nuclear programme.

Iran fears the West could impose sanctions on its petrol imports and cripple its economy.

'Dangerous move'

There was violence in nine areas of Tehran as angry youths attacked petrol stations, Raja News, a website linked to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reported.

Reports of attacks on petrol stations elsewhere in the country could not be confirmed.

Some people came on foot with jerry cans and plastic bottles and the police were out in force to stem unrest, amid reports of scuffles at petrol stations.

The restrictions began at midnight local time on Wednesday (2030 GMT Tuesday) and would continue for four months - with a possible extension to six months - the government said.

There is anger and frustration the government did not give people more notice. Some MPs have called for an end to the rationing and parliament may postpone its summer recess to deal with the crisis.

"Guns, fireworks, tanks, [President] Ahmadinejad should be killed," chanted angry youths, throwing stones at police.

Iran's petrol is heavily subsidised, sold at about a fifth of its real cost

The protests are the first large-scale outpouring of anger against the Iranian government since Mr Ahmadinejad took office in 2005.

"I think rationing is not bad by itself but it must be organised," one man told the Associated Press news agency.

"One cannot announce at 9pm that the rationing would start at midnight, they should have announced the exact date at least two days earlier."

Iran's petrol is heavily subsidised, sold at about a fifth of its real cost.

The price of 1,000 rials ($0.11) per litre makes Iran one of the cheapest countries in the world for motorists.

So far there has been no announcement about whether Iranians can buy more petrol at the real market cost.

Licensed taxi drivers will be able to buy 800 litres a month at the subsidised price.

US pressure

Our correspondent says rationing fuel is only likely to add to high inflation.

It is a dangerous move for any elected government, especially in an oil-rich country like Iran, where people think cheap fuel is their birthright and public transport is very limited, she says.

The US, which is leading efforts to pressure Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities, has said Iran's fuel imports are a point of "leverage".

Washington and other Western nations accuse the Islamic Republic of seeking to build nuclear weapons.

Iran says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and is solely aimed at producing civilian nuclear power.

BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy says there is no sign of Iran backing down politically on the nuclear issue.

But in economic terms, the international pressure is having some effect.

Foreign companies are less willing to invest in Iran, and foreign banks are withholding credit.

For the Iranian authorities, images of angry motorists attacking petrol stations create an unwelcome impression of economic vulnerability, our correspondent adds.

---

Are you in Iran? Have you been affected by the rationing? If you have any information you would like to share with the BBC you can do so using the form below:

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We can relax. They were Citgo stations.

[norraad]

...smooth move, x-lax.

[RexBeach]

Looks like Iran just might be folding up like a cheap suitcase.

Holy smokes! Iran imports 40% of its gasoline? To me, that is quite a revelation.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the Report:

*******************************************

"Guns, fireworks, tanks, [President] Ahmadinejad should be killed," chanted angry youths, throwing stones at police.

**********************************************

Now that is a nice progression.....

[britemp]

‘Holy smokes! Iran imports 40% of its gasoline? To me, that is quite a revelation.’

Yep - they’ve got barrels of crude on every corner, but they’re too dumb and disorganised to build any refineries to turn it into petrol or diesel! :D

[InterceptPoint]

Greenies of the world UNITE. You have a new home where they take protection of the environment seriously.

Only 100 liters per month. This is heaven. Maybe next year that can be reduced to 50 liters and then to 10 and then to 0. This is potentially even better than 72 virgins.

[Loyal Buckeye]

Some enterprising freedom fighters might be able to reduce that to say 10% or less.

[Kerretarded]

I commented to my wife last night it is hillarious that a country with NO EPA and NO ENVIRONMENTALISTS to stifle a country’s growth chooses to build numerous Nuclear plants but won’t build its own refineries to refine its own oil.

[kromike]

Now that is a nice progression.....

Agreed. It would be sweetly ironic if Iran's primary export of Terrorists suddenly turned on Iran's Mad Mullahs and started wreaking havoc & mayhem on their own country.

Outside of true, freedom-loving Iranians, no big loss...

[domenad]

We could solve this nuclear thing in ten minutes. Blockade their ports, aim at their refinery, and tell them: “Nukes or gas. Your choice.”

[P-40]

Iran imports 40% of its gasoline? To me, that is quite a revelation.

It's kind of funny too. I wonder how much sand they import? :)

[Kerretarded]

It is a dangerous move for any elected government, especially in an oil-rich country like Iran, where people think cheap fuel is their birthright and public transport is very limited, she says.

Perhaps Jimmah Carter has just decided to be one of Ahmadinejad's advisors.

[Gorzaloon]

Yep - they’ve got barrels of crude on every corner, but they’re too dumb and disorganised to build any refineries to turn it into petrol or diesel! :D

Strange how hard it is to build an oil refinery, and how easy it is to build thousands of turbomolecular pumps and gas centrifuges.

[TexKat]

Iranians burn a gas station during a protest against gas-rationing in Tehran, Iran on early Wednesday June, 27, 2007. Angry Iranians attacked several gas stations in protest after the government suddenly began long-threatened fuel rationing, while many others rushed to fill their tanks. The Oil Ministry announced the start of rationing Tuesday night only three hours before it was due to begin at midnight. (AP photo)

Iranians burn a gas station and nearby cars during a protest against gas-rationing, in northwest Tehran June 26, 2007. Angry Iranians set fire to a Tehran petrol station and chanted anti-government slogans in a northwest area of the capital on Tuesday in protest against fuel rationing introduced in OPEC's number two oil producer. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN)

An Iranian man walks past a damaged petrol station in the northwest of Tehran. Angry demonstrators torched petrol stations and long queues formed at heavily-guarded fuel pumps after oil-rich Iran announced the start of fuel rationing, triggering nationwide protests.(AFP/Behrouz Mehri)

[RightWhale]

that is quite a revelation

A sign that someone is not spending enough time on the Internet and FreeRepublic. Budgeting more time for FR, say, an additional two hours every day would supply this deficit for the time being.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Reuters says more petro stations torched:

Iran fuel rations spark anger, pump stations burn

*****************************************EXCERPT**********************

(Adds report on more pump stations torched, quotes, details)

By Fredrik Dahl

TEHRAN, June 27 (Reuters) - Angry Iranian motorists queued for gasoline for hours on Wednesday after the world's fourth-largest oil exporter imposed fuel rationing, sparking chaotic scenes and the torching of at least two pump stations.

One Iranian news agency, Fars, said 12 gasoline stations were set ablaze in Tehran after the government's announcement late on Tuesday, but only two could be independently confirmed.

Some drivers had scuffled while waiting to fill up their tanks before the rationing started at midnight. Others openly criticised President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, which came to power vowing to share out Iran's oil wealth more fairly.

"We are swimming in oil and all they do is just put pressure on people," said taxi driver Hasan Mohammadi.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the photos......very lovely.....

[95 Bravo]

“There was violence in nine areas of Tehran as ANGRY YOUTHS attacked petrol stations,...”
Shades of two summers ago in France! There’s “angry youths” in Teheran, too? Those guys get around, don’t they?

[thackney]

but they’re too dumb and disorganised to build any refineries to turn it into petrol or diesel!

Is that why the US also imports gasoline and diesel?

[Mr. Lucky]

Yes, it is.

[highlander_UW]

There is a grand total of 1 oil refinery in Iran. Quite a tempting target.

[thackney]

-—There is a grand total of 1 oil refinery in Iran. Quite a tempting target.-—

Iran has several refineries

Abadan (400,000-bbl/d capacity)
Isfahan (265,000 bbl/d)
Bandar Abbas (232,000 bbl/d)
Tehran (225,000 bbl/d)
Arak (150,000 bbl/d)
Tabriz (112,000 bbl/d)

Refineries are also in Kermanshah, Shiraz and Lavan Island .

EIA, Country Analysis Briefs, Iran, Oil
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Iran/Oil.html

National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company
http://www.nioc.org/subCompanies/niordc/index.asp

[RexBeach]

My word. One refinery. I wonder how much ordnance would be required to reduce that to dust? A conventional weapon, that is.

[Mac94]

This is a good news/bad new report.

One thing jumped out at me, esp given alot of other reports about war preps in the region:”

“The restrictions began at midnight local time on Wednesday (2030 GMT Tuesday) and would continue for four months - with a possible extension to six months - the government said.”

Why the time table? If this is economic what will be different in 4-6 months? We kow that the Iranian economy has been bad and there are shortages, and this may explain whats going on, but could this also be a diverting of fuel supplies to military reserves? Could this be a precursor move that could signal that Iran is contemplating or worried about military hostilities in the next few months?

Or, could this drive Iran to start trouble externally to distract an unhappy domestic population?

This is something we can certainly exploit if we play our cards right ... but we need to keep our powder very dry ... just in case.

More instability in a powder keg of a region.

[TexKat]

Thanks for the photos......very lovely.....

LOL!

[highlander_UW]

Interesting...I’d heard on several occasions there was only one. They almost certainly were referring to the Abadan one that has the bulk of the capacity.

[RexBeach]

Good post, Mac. Thanks!

Your second point had occurred to me as well.

-Rex

[highlander_UW]

I was just informed by another poster, there are a handful of refineries....but it is a chokepoint in their economy. Now I don’t actually advocate bombing them because that would give them clear excuse to blame the US for their mismanagement.

[thackney]

See post #23

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Photos....see post #15.

[tcrlaf]

Think Totalitarian Population control...

If the sheeple have no gas, they can only travel by public transportation, and that means they can be TRACKED....

[RexBeach]

Thanks, thackney.

OK, now we have several targets!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Wonder why we keep hearing that they have just one gasoline refinery?

[rightazrain]

Excellent analysis!

[Mac94]

Yup, and that’s kinda how I see a war with them going ... kind of a 21st century seige by both sides on each others economies.

We would seize Kharg Island, blockade their import and export of fuel products, and hit their refineries. We would put them in a real bind real quick ... then we would systematically take down their nuclear infrastructure.

Iran will try their own version, hitting regional oil facilites in Iraq and the moderate Arab states as well as threaten shipping via the Straits of Hormuz. They’ll try to drive oil through the room and create an economic crisis in the West. All the while unleashing proxies in Iraq and elsewhere.

Our attacks will have the quickest impact but Iran is not an open government and can crush dissent.

Here the impact will be painful, but not as quickly, but public outcry and political opposition in our system of government can have much more of a policy impact.

Basically, we’d see who cries uncle first.

[thackney]

Wonder why we keep hearing that they have just one gasoline refinery?

Where do you hear it? The only place I come across that claim is posters on FR.

[thackney]

Wonder why we keep hearing that they have just one gasoline refinery?

They are certainly no secret for anyone willing to spend 5 minutes searching on the internet. The can be confirmed by many sources.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the reply and the great map....yes,...I’ve heard it here....clearly totally wrong!

[TexKat]

National Iranian Oil Company
(NIOC)

Gas Refining Companies

Bid Boland Gas Refinery Co.

Fajr-e-Jam (Kangan) Gas Refinery Co.

Ilam Gas Refinery Co.

Masjed Soleiman Gas Treating Plant

Parsian Gas Refinery Co.

Sarkhon & Qeshm Gas Refinery Co.

Shahid Hashemi Nejad (Khangiran) Gas Refinery Co.

South Pars Gas Complex (SPGC)

National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company
(NIORDC)
Top

National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC)

National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Co. (NIOPDC)

National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Co. (NIOEC)

Iranian Oil Pipeline and Telecommunication Co. (IOPTC)

Abadan Oil Refining Co.

Kermanshah Oil Refining Co.

Esfahan Oil Refining Co.

Shiraz Oil Refining Co.

Tehran Oil Refining Co.

Bandar Abbas Oil Refining Co.

Shazand-e-Arak Oil Refining Co.

Tabriz Oil Refining Co.

Lavan Oil Refining Co.

http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:BkvhUAe7DFoJ:www.iranoilgas.com/companies/whoiswho/+gas+refineries+iran&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us

[Daus]

This is a good news/bad new report.

True. A sudden annoucement of rationing could be them perparing for military operations. Gas goes to the army not to the citizens.

[Mac94]

And the map shows our “best” ground war option i cutting off the Iranian economy ... driving into the oil regions near Iraq. Most of Irans oil is in the southwestern portion of the country or along the Gulf Coast ... and it’s territory that is generally more flat and open, ie, good armor country.

It would not be hard to seize this swath of territory and hold it, denying Iran of the vast majority of its wells.

[Mac94]

Yup, in and of itself it does not seem to lend itself to the military angle ... but given the reports of Syrian deployments, the movement of the Syrian archives out of Damascus, the Hamas operations in Gaza, the Hezbollah buildup, reports of Iranian missilies in Syria, increased Iranian military preps, recent war rumors out od Israel, Iranian invovlement inside Iraq and Afghanistan, and the over arching nuclear crisis, amoung other things ... it could be put in a more alarming light. It has happened before in modern military history of a nation rationing fuel before military operations.

The question, if this is the case is this; is this a case of Iranian jitters about a possible Israeli or American attack they perceive could happen soon or a case of their preparing for their own offensive operations. That is a big unknown.

[thackney]

Thank you for the list. BTW Gas refining is the processing of Natural Gas, not the creation of gasoline or Petrol as it is called in Iran (in english).

[TexKat]

Plenty of Oil, but Few Refineries for Iran

What Iran lacks are sufficient refineries to keep pace with its thirst for fuel. Iran is almost fully dependent on trucks to move goods. The number of cars is rising each year as drivers from the baby boom decade after the 1979 Islamic Revolution take the wheel.

Iran imports more than 40 percent of its gasoline and diesel needs. It comes mostly from the Middle East but also from as far away as Venezuela.

Closing the import tap could force Iran to either impose rationing _ as it did during the 1980-88 war with Iraq _ or raise prices and risk a backlash from a public accustomed to paying more for bottled water than gasoline.

Making up the refinery shortage would take years, meaning Iran would have no alternative fuel supplies if hit by U.N. sanctions. The United States and its European allies want sanctions imposed if Iran refuses to give up its uranium enrichment program, which is feared to be designed for producing nuclear weapons.

“Iran really does not have a lot of room to maneuver on the basic issue of refinery capacity and demand,” said Narsi Ghorban, an independent energy consultant based in Tehran.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/31/AR2006053101464_2.html

[thackney]

What Iran lacks are sufficient refineries to keep pace with its thirst for fuel. Iran is almost fully dependent on trucks to move goods. The number of cars is rising each year as drivers from the baby boom

Sounds like the US.

[TexKat]

March 22, 2003 Two US Missiles Hit Iranian Oil Refinery: Iran Confirms

[sdcraigo]

Thanks for the post. The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if this “crisis” is a calculated PR ruse to get the world on Iran’s side as far as their “need” for Nuclear power.

[Mac94]

“Iran imports more than 40 percent of its gasoline and diesel needs. It comes mostly from the Middle East but also from as far away as Venezuela.”

Interesting link in the chain right there with our friend Hugo.

We impose a blockade and stop and search a Venezualan vessel ... could this be the spark that our buddy Hugo would use to get into a fight?

[TexKat]

Sounds like the US.

Yep!