Azerbaijan, Baku, Apr.21/ Trend F.Karimov/
Chinese financers will participate in Iran's Abadan refinery development project, the Mehr News Agency quoted Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Company, Farhad Ahmadi, as saying.
The project is estimated to cost $2.6 billion, he said, adding that 85 percent of the fund will be secured by the Chinese side.
The contract on financing will be signed in the near future, he added.
Earlier this month, Iranian deputy oil minister Alireza Zeighami said that implementing the second phase of the refinery's development plan is aimed to increase daily gasoline output by 6 million liters to 21 million liters.
All the old establishments in the refinery will be replaced with modern facilities to boost production capacity, Zeighami said.
Moreover, 15.5 million liters of diesel fuel, 7.1 million liters of furnace oil, 3.9 million liters of jet fuel, and 1.5 million liters of liquefied gas will be added to the refinery's production capacity, he added.
In October 2012, ISNA quoted Zeighami as saying that Iran is currently producing 25 million liters of premium gasoline per day, meeting Euro-4 and Euro-5 standards.
The country's gasoline output is projected to hit 70 million liters per day by the end of the next Iranian calendar year (March 2015), he added.
Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said in September 2012 that Iran will boost its gasoline production capacity by 10 million liters in the near future.
According to the official government data, Iranian gasoline imports have slumped by as much as 95 percent over the last four years as rising refinery capacity and lowering fuel subsidies help neutralize Western sanctions aimed at starving Tehran of fuel.