Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 23
By Dalga Khatinoglu - Trend:
Iran plans to launch 16 oil refining projects, worth 33 billion euros, eyeing to surpass Saudi Arabia as the biggest oil refiner in the Middle East, according to an Iranian news agency report.
For the time being, Iran's oil refining capacity is 1.85 million barrels per day (mbpd).
The country plans to build 12 medium and large crude oil and gas condensate refining units, implement fuel oil output reduction projects at Bandar Abbas and Abadan refineries, revamp Isfahan and Abadan refineries, and boost crude oil and oil products transfer capacity, said the Mehr news agency Jan. 22.
Once the projects come on stream, Iran's oil refining capacity will increase by 1.29 mbpd and reach 3.1 mbpd.
Saudi Arabia's oil refining capacity has been declining over the past five years from 2.8 mbpd in 2010 to around 2.1 mbpd in 2015.
Iranian laws stipulate that private sector and foreign investors should account for 80 percent of those putting funds into the oil refining projects in the country.
Below is the list of major investment opportunities in Iran's oil refining sector.
Projects |
Capacities |
Investments |
Persian Gulf Star refinery |
360,000 barrels of condensate |
800 million euros |
Pars refinery |
120,000 barrels of condensate |
$1.8 billion |
Anahita refinery |
150,000 barrels of heavy crude |
3.1 billion euros |
Siraf refining complex |
480,000 barrels of condensate |
$2.4 billion |
Jask refinery |
300,000 barrels of heavy crude |
$7.5 billion |
Revamping Isfahan refinery |
120,000-barrel distillation unit |
Three billion euros |
Revamping Abadan refinery |
120,000-barrel distillation unit |
$3.4 billion |
Reducing Bandar Abbas refinery's fuel oil production |
57,000-barrel unit |
$1.2 billion |
Reducing Abadan refinery's fuel oil production |
60,000-barrel unit |
$1.5 billion |
Six oil transfer pipelines |
One million barrels |
Seven billion euros plus 23 trillion rials (about 703 million euros) |
Oil transfer terminals |
10 oil transfer centers and terminals |
1.8 trillion rials (about $50 million) |