Iran engineers capable of building refineries abroad

A senior Iranian oil industry official says Iranian engineers are capable of building refineries in other countries.

Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Company (NIOEC) Farhad Ahmadi said after building the Shazand Oil Refinery near the central city of Arak, Iran has gained necessary experience to build refineries abroad.

He added that NIOEC has been flooded with demands from refining companies in neighboring countries.

“With the implementation of this giant refining project [in Arak], we have acquired the know-how to construct a fully Iranian refinery, and also achieved the capability to export technical and engineering services related to refining projects.”

Shazand’s Imam Khomeini Refinery, due to be inaugurated in the coming days, is to enhance the country’s premium gasoline production by eight million liters per day (lpd).

The treatment facility produces gasoline, liquefied gas, propylene, kerosene, gasoil as well as fuel oil and tar.

The refinery has undergone development with an investment of USD3.3 billion by NIOEC.

Iran plans to inaugurate three mega-projects at Shazand, Lavan and Abadan refineries by the end of the current Persian calendar year (ending March 20, 2013) to enhance production of the country’s premium gasoline from 12 million lpd to 25 million lpd.

The projects will increase Iran’s total gasoline output to 70 million lpd, enabling the country to become a long-term exporter of gasoline.

Iran attained self-sufficiency in fuel production after its international suppliers stopped selling gasoline to Tehran under US pressure.