Iranian president to inaugurate 14 oil projects of Lavan refinery

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jun.24/ Trend R.Zamanov

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will officially inaugurate 14 gasoline, diesel oil, and jet fuel production units at the Lavan refinery on Tuesday, Mehr news agency reported.

"Once the projects come on stream some 2.8 million liters of gasoline and some 4 million liters of oil products conforming euro-4 standard would be added to the output capacity of Lavan refinery," the Mehr News Agency quoted the Managing Director of Lavan Oil Refinery Company (LORC) Mohammad-Ali Dadvar said.

The refinery's refining capacity currently stands at 60,000 barrels, he said.

Deputy oil minister Alierza Zeyqami said on June 21 that once the gasoline production units of Lavan, Esfahan, Bandar Abbas, and Tabriz refineries come on stream, the country's production capacity of gasoline conforming to euro 4 would raise to 50 million liters per day.

Dadvar said on July 17 that Lavan refinery will export 25 percent of its products.

"Some 75 percent of Lavan refinery's output will be consumed domestically and the rest will be exported," the IRIB News Agency quoted Dadvar as saying.

"Masut and liquefied gas are would be the exported items," he said.

"The refinery currently produces 1,080,000 liters of gasoline, 1.7 million liters of masut, and 30 tons of liquefied gas per day," Dadvar explained.

"Once all the underway projects come on stream, the figures would reach 2.8 million liters, 4 million liters, and 100 tons respectively," he added.

Davar further went on note that by using 20,000 barrels of gas condensates, the refinery's refining capacity will reach 60,000 barrels per day from the current figure of 30,000 barrels.

Iran has increased oil refining capacity at the Lavan petrochemical facility by 10,000 barrels per day in an effort to counter the US sanctions and export petrochemical products instead of crude oil, the Mehr News agency reported last week.

A crash plan was launched last month, which led to 10,000 barrels per day increase in the production of gasoline, diesel fuel, and naphtha.

Iran's oil refining capacity is currently about 1.85 million barrels per day.