Azerbaijan, Baku, Jul.31/ Trend F.Milad/
Iran's oil refining capacity will be increased by one million barrels per day by March 2016, Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi announced on Tuesday, the Shana News Agency reported.
He made the remarks during the inauguration of two oil refining projects at Tehran's Tondgouyan facility.
Iran has expanded its refining capacity during the past couple of years, while its gasoline consumption has come down considerably following the implementation of the first phase of cutting energy subsidies.
The country plans to increase gasoline and gasoil production capacity by 64 and 12 million lifters per day by completion of nine on-going development plans at its oil refineries.
These nine projects include the gasoline making units at Abadan, Tabriz, Isfahan, Bandar Abbas, Tehran (Shahid Tondgouyan), Imam Khomeini (Shazand) plus development and upgrading plans at Persian Gulf Star and Lavan oil refineries, according to the Fars News Agency.
Following the implementation of these projects, production of kerosene and jet fuel will each rise by 7.4 million litres and liquid petroleum gas by 7.4 million litres per day.
Earlier, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Alireza Zeighami had said the country's refining projects would come online by June 2013 at the latest.