Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 7
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
China has started a project, worth $3 billion to upgrade Iran’s Abadan refinery in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, the Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company (NIOPRDC) Abbas Kazemi said.
The project aimed at optimization of the refinery’s manufacturing processes, started after months of talks with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), Kazemi said, Mehr news agency reported Dec. 7.
The Chinese firm will carry out the second phase of the renovation project as well, Kazemi said, adding that the first phase of the project needs some $1.3 billion of assets.
China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) will undertake 85 percent of the project's funding, meanwhile the Iranian part is responsible for 15 percent of the investment, Kazemi said.
He further noted that increasing gasoline and gas oil production capacity as well as decreasing the fuel oil output is the main objective of the project.
Once the project completed the share of fuel oil production from the refinery’s total refining capacity will decrease to 20 percent from the current 42 percent, Kazemi said, adding that refinery will produce only products conforming to Euro-4 standard.
Kazemi said Dec. 6 that Iran plans to invest $14 billion to upgrade six oil refineries.
The official said in December 2015 that production of fuel oil in Iran will decrease to 10 percent of the total refining capacity by 2025.
Iran is the world's third major fuel oil producer, which indicates low performance of the country's refineries.
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