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By Trend

Iran is negotiating with leading global oil companies to establish fuel retail stations in the country, Ardeshir Dadras, head of Iran’s CNG Station Owners Association, said.

Iran’s private sector investors are in talks with Shell, Total, BP and Lukoil on the issue, Dadras said, Mehr news agency reported Aug. 10.

Companies such as Shell and Total have put two preconditions for opening filling stations in Iran, including gasoline, diesel and CNG stations, he added.

The companies have requested 10 to 25 percent of incomes from fuel sales as one of the preconditions, Dadras said.

They have also asked that prices for gasoline, diesel and CNG be determined in line with floating system, he added.

Given the current prices and commissions, launching fuel retail stations in Iran by international companies is impossible at the moment, Dadras said.

Last October head of Iran’s filling stations union, Bijan Haj Mohammadreza said licenses had been issued for Shell and Total to establish 200 filling stations in Iran.

However, the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) later rejected the issue.

There are currently more than 3,200 filling stations in Iran offering services to motorists in the country of 80 million people, according to figures provided by the local media.

More than 15 million vehicles ply the country's roads as fuel prices in Iran are among the cheapest in the world even after the government cancelled offering oil products at subsidized prices last year.

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