The city of Qeshm is located in the easternmost part of the island. It may be lost in the island; however, it has always been a strategic place of residence due to its position overlooking south, north and east, overlooking the Strait of Hormuz and proximity to Bandar Abbas.

Qeshm Island is home to five small and large towns; namely, Qeshm, Dargahan, Tabl, Ramchah, Laft and Ramkan. With a population of 180,000, the island has turned into the second important branch of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) in Hormuzgan.

Hassan Salari, who is director of the Qeshm branch of the NIOPDC in Hormuzgan, told Iran Petroleum that fuel supply to residents and 740 vessels in Qeshm Island is carried out by 15 land and maritime fuel stations and storage tanks with a capacity of 18 million liters.

"In this island, there is capacity to store 8 million liters of gasoline, 8 million liters of gasoil, 1 million liters of jet fuel and 1 million liters of fuel oil," he said. "That is the case while this island consumes 250,000 liters a day of gasoline, 350,000 liters a day of gasoil, 80,000 liters a day of jet fuel and 15,000 liters a day of fuel oil."

These figures double during Persian New Year holidays and other holidays throughout the year. The main consumers of liquid fuel in this island are industries, companies and plants. Larak and Hengman are two satellite islands fed by the Qeshm branch of NIOPDC.

Vessels or big tankers are used for fuel distribution in Qeshm Island. On average, 11.2 million liters of fuel is unloaded in the island every month.

Salari said the free zone status of Qeshm Island attracts many visitors throughout the year. Every day, Qeshm welcomes 15 inbound flights, which reach 25 during Persian New Year holidays.

In the last calendar year to March 20, more than 2,700 flights were carried out in this island, which received more than 14 million liters of fuel.

Humid weather and 55-degree-Celcius temperature toughen fuel distribution to residents and vessels. The service workers cannot work for more than one hour due to bad weather conditions.

A major challenge in Qeshm Island is fuel smuggling. Since the start of the current calendar year, 254,000 liters of smuggled fuel has been discovered, down more than 98% year-on-year.

Courtesy of Iran Petroleum