Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 11
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran plans to boost its oil refining capacity to three million barrels per day, said Deputy Oil Minister Mansour Moazzami.
Moazzami said that the country's oil refining capacity is projected to reach three mbpd in Iranian fiscal year 1397 (March 2018-March 2019), Iran's Shana news agency reported on March 11.
By inaugurating eight gas condensate refineries in the southern port of Siraf, the refining capacity will be increased from currently 1.8 mbpd to 2.28 mbpd, he said, without specifying a date for inaugurating the refineries.
Moazzami said in February that Iran needs about $30 billion per year to maintain its oil output and for development of oil projects. He said that investment in the country's oil industry has decreased in recent years.
Decline in investments has lead to delay and halt in the development projects of the oil industry, he added.
Latest figures released by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) show that Iran produced 2.75 mbpd of oil in January.
Figures show that Iran's average oil production over 2014 rose by 93,000 bpd and stood at 2.76 mbpd.
Iran increases its oil refining capacity to deal with the international sanctions which were imposed on the country's oil sector.
The country's oil refining capacity reached 1.97 mbpd in 2013, a 4.1 percent rise compared to 2012.
