Iran’s Oil Ministry says its largest gasoline refinery will further ramp up output to respond to growing demand for motor fuels in the country.

According to The Iran Project, Deputy CEO of state fuel company NIORDC said on Monday that gasoline production in the Persian Gulf Star Refinery (PGSR) will reach 45 million liters per day in late April, an increase of 3 million liters per day from current figures.

Mohammad Ali Dadvar said that the increase in gasoline output will take place despite difficulties facing the Iranian petroleum industry because of US sanctions.

Dadvar said that domestic companies have supplied the technologically complicated equipment needed to renovate and expand the PGSR.

“Massive units like the continuous catalyst regeneration (CCR) and isomerization have been launched in the PGSR thanks to efforts and expertise of domestic companies,” he said.

The PGSR is the world’s largest gas condensate refinery. It is located on the Persian Gulf coast near the port city of Bandar Abbas and relies on South Pars, the world’s largest gas field located on the maritime border between Iran and Qatar, for its feedstock.

The refinery is responsible for 38% of Iran’s total gasoline production. It also produces 12 million liters per day of diesel, sulfur, and jet fuel.

NIORDC officials announced last month that Iran had increased its gasoline production by nearly 10% in the three months to mid-January, saying that total gasoline production in the country had reached 107 million liters per day.

The figures come as Iran is struggling to respond to a rising demand for fuel, a problem which has been exacerbated in recent years because of heavily subsidized prices that have encouraged smuggling across the borders. 

Government figures show that gasoline and gasoil smuggling from Iran has reached between 20-30 million liters per day with reports suggesting a bulk of the supply is ending up in Pakistan and countries in the Persian Gulf region.