The Research Institute of Petroleum Industry has completed a pilot scheme to convert mazut to higher value-added products, including petroleum coke that’s used in steel production, the head of RIPI said.
“The research center has signed a contract with Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery for the mass production of coke, which will help Iran become self-sufficient in the product,” Jafar Tofiqi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
The pilot plant of the coke production unit has been built at RIPI and it will help launch the unit in the refinery.
When the unit becomes operational within four years, Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery in Hormozgan Province will produce 620,000 tons of coke per year, which is more than Iran's industrial needs and the surplus will be exported.
Iran is currently dependent on coke imports.
The contract is of strategic value for Iran, as the US sanctions imposed on the country have roiled the item’s import to Iran.
The projects will take three years to complete and cost an estimated $1 billion that will be made available by the refinery, banks and from advanced sales.
Petcoke production units will be fed by low-sulfur fuel oil (mazut) to produce highly value-added items.
Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery is Iran’s third largest with a capacity of 350,000 barrels per day. The feed for the refinery is heavy crude plus condensates. The refinery largely caters to domestic demand and some of its output is exported.
It produces byproducts such as liquid gas, lead-free premium gasoline, jet fuel, white oil, variety of solvents, diesel, raw material for grease, fuel oil, kerosene, asphalt and sulfur.
The refinery, located off the Persian Gulf, is a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company and accounts for an estimated 18% of the total domestic petroleum products.
Petroleum coke is a final carbon-rich solid material that derives from oil refining. There are at least four basic types of petroleum coke, namely needle coke, sponge coke, honeycomb coke and shot coke.
