Iranian president wants to stop exports of crude oil

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at the opening of a refinery of Imam Khomeini in Shazand that the country should stop exporting crude oil and boost refining.

He believes that selling petroleum products would increase income 3-4-fold and boost petrochemical output 5-10-fold. The president urged executives to put effort into designing and construction of independent refineries.

Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi had made similar proposals earlier.