Over $3b in new refining projects to be launched this year: Deputy minister
The Iranian Oil Ministry will inaugurate new refinery projects worth more than $3.0 billion this year, despite years of stagnation in the country’s refining sector, a senior official from the ministry said on Saturday.
Head of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company Mohammad Sadeq Azimifar said that the country’s refining industry had faced stagnation over the past three years, adding, “This year, over $3 billion in new projects will be inaugurated,” IRNA reported.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday during the third day of the 29th Iran International Oil, Gas, Refining, and Petrochemical Exhibition, Azimifar noted, “While Iran was a gasoline exporter in 2020, it has become a gasoline importer in recent years.”
He reported a 43% decline in power plant fuel reserves at the start of the current government’s term (July, 2024), saying, “Major refinery overhauls were delayed in the past three years due to financial imbalances.” Despite these challenges, the Deputy Minister emphasized, “Power plant fuel consumption has risen by 80% this year.”
Azimifar also highlighted a reduction in CNG consumption from 23 million cubic meters in 2020 to 18 million cubic meters.
“Since the current government took office, nearly 8 million liters have been added to the country’s oil and gas production, with an additional 7 million liters added to gasoline output,” he added.
Gas production
Meanwhile, at a separate press conference on the sidelines of the exhibition, Touraj Dehqani, CEO of Pars Oil and Gas Company, addressed the Oil Ministry’s gas production target for this year and said, “A production ceiling of 725 million cubic meters has been set.”
Dehqani went on to say that, “In the Kish gas field, 14 wells have been drilled, with 10 completed and ready for production, yielding 28 million cubic meters—equivalent to one phase of South Pars.”
Also, Gholam Abbas Hosseini, CEO of the South Pars Gas Complex, underscored the facility’s role in supplying 73% of Iran’s gas, SHANA reported.
He announced the early commencement of major refinery overhauls and plans to boost daily gas production by 10–15 million cubic meters this winter.
“The South Pars Complex, the Middle East’s largest gas facility, produces nearly 600 million cubic meters of sweet gas daily. It also supplies feedstock to the Persian Gulf Star Refinery,” Hosseini stated.