TEHRAN (NIORDC) __ The CEO of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) said the company exported three shipments of Iranian gasoil to Asian countries last month.

Speaking on the sidelines of the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding for financing Pars Petroleum Products Pipeline and in response to reporters who asked about Iran"s export capacity due to the European fuel crisis, Jalil Salari said on Sunday: "Capacities have already been created regarding product exports, but our focus is on meeting domestic needs and safe storage, especially in the cold seasons of the year."

Emphasizing the need to develop infrastructure for product exports, he said: "This month and since the end of last month, three oil and gas ships have transported the output of domestic refineries to Asian countries."

The Deputy Minister of Petroleum for Refining and Distribution Affairs emphasized: "According to the forecasts for the increase in fuel prices, our interests and focus are on the issue of fuel storage under the current circumstances and postponing exports to the future."

In response to another question about the possibility of exporting the product to other countries, including the United States, if the sanctions are lifted, he said: "In this regard, we have already deployed a group to study crude oil processing in refineries in other countries, so our focus in exports is sending crude oil rather than products to consumers."