The National Iranian Oil Company has boosted its crude oil refining capacity by 11 million liters per day in the last 12 months.
According to IRNA and based on data from the Oil Ministry and the National Iranian Oil Company, the processing capacity has risen from 270 million liters per day in 2021 to 281 million liters per day in 2022, up 4% in the one-year period.
Giving a breakdown, the state-run news portal noted that Euro-4 quality diesel production capacity has experienced a 17% rise, reaching from 35 million liters per day to 41 million liters per day.
Gasoline output has also soared by 2% over the period to exceed 105 million liters per day.
“The production of Euro-4 compliant gasoline at Lavan Oil Refinery, a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company in the southern Hormozgan Province, has risen by 1 million liters per day,” Mohsen Khojastehmehr, managing director of NIOC, said.
“Lavan's gasoline output capacity has reached 3.8 million liters per day.”
The official noted that NIOC’s refining capacity has returned to levels not seen before the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and reimposition of sanctions on Iran's crude sales in 2018.
"The plan to raise oil production capacity was implemented at an estimated cost of $500 million," he said.
“The money was mainly spent on digging new wells and installing electric submersible pumps in marginal and abandoned wells whose output level had decreased substantially.”
The Isfahan Oil Refining Company in Isfahan Province has recently launched a sulfur granulation unit with a daily capacity of 300 tons. The move was also in line with policies to reduce environmental pollution and upgrade the quality of refined products.
The company has succeeded in removing aromatic compounds, sulfur and benzene from AW-406 solvent and converting it to ++AW-406 solvent.
Khojastehmehr said 19 development plans are being carried out across the country and upon their completion, NIOC’s refining capacity will increase by 1.5 times to reach 3.5 million barrels per day.
Petroleum Coke Production
Two petroleum coke production units are being built in Bandar Abbas and Imam Khomeini refineries where 700,000 tons per year of needle and sponge coke for the steel and aluminum industries will be produced.
NIOC and the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization signed an agreement last year for the production of sponge and needle coke in the two refineries, which should make Iran self-sufficient regarding the two items.
The project will take three years to complete and cost an estimated $1 billion that will be made available by the two refineries, banks and from advanced sales.
Petcoke production units will be fed by low-sulfur fuel oil to produce highly value-added items.
Iran is dependent on imports of sponge and needle coke. Bandar Abbas Refinery in Hormozgan Province will produce 620,000 tons per year of sponge coke, which is double the demand of Iran's aluminum industry. The surplus will be exported.
Khojastehmehr noted that tapping into the huge helium reserves in the giant South Pars Gas Field off the Persian Gulf is on the Oil Ministry’s agenda and operations will start in the near future with the help of the center.
The NIOC chief said as per a contract signed last year, the center was assigned to build skid-mounted processing units and mobile oil treaters compliant with international standards.
As soon as the project is completed, helium extraction from SP will start.
The NIOC chief noted that Iran has massive helium resources and need not import the odorless and non-toxic gas from Qatar, the UAE, China and Turkey.
“The gas field is estimated to hold 40% of the world’s helium reserves and NIOC will sign an agreement with a knowledge-based firm that has cutting-edge technology to separate helium from methane,” he said, without elaborating further.
According to Gasworld.com, 75% of global helium consumed globally are largely limited to two locations, one of which is the South Pars Gas Field shared between Iran and Qatar. The other location is in the US.
Khojastehmehr noted that there are close to 750 abandoned oil wells in Iran, noting that upon their revival, NIOC’s crude refining capacity can surpass 5 million bpd.
“NIOC has received 50 proposals from knowledge-based firms to revive marginal wells and they are being assessed,” he said.
