TEHRAN, Iran, July 7. Iran has overall improved its know-how in terms of bitumen production, as now the domestic production is on the international level, said Deputy Oil Minister and the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Jalil Salari, Trend reports citing Mehr.
Salari made the remark on the eve of Iran's bitumen industry day ceremony.
“The bitumen produced in Iran is one of the best in the world in terms of quality," he said, adding that Iran's bitumen industry can play a special role as far as regional and East Asia markets are concerned.
He went on to note the development of bitumen industry through the production of bitumen from the heavy crude oil of Soroush and Nowruz fields.
Referring to the production capacity of 1.1 million tons of bitumen last year, he expressed hope for increasing production capacity to 2 million tons by the end of the current Iranian year (ends on March 21, 2023).
Salari reminded that Iran accounts for 8 percent of the world bitumen market.
According to the official, Iran consumes less than 50 percent of its bitumen production and the rest is exported.