The second phase of Abadan Oil Refinery’s expansion plan in Khuzestan Province, which was completed last week, will not only help improve environmental conditions but also increase the supply of gasoline and diesel that comply with Euro-5 emission standards, the project operator said.
“The development project has increased the facilities’ daily refining capacity by 50% to reach 630,000 barrels,” Ahmad Farzaneh was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news portal.
Giving a breakdown, he noted that the refinery’s Euro-5 gasoline output has increased from 10 million liters per day to 14 ml/d, up 40%.
“Diesel production has also risen by 25% to approach 20 ml/d.”
The venture, carried out at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion, entailed the installation of new units for hydrogen processing, hydrocracking, liquefied petroleum gas, crude distillation and other utilities to replace old units built 110 years ago, he added.
Because the crude processing facility is equipped with the hydrogen production unit, it will help increase the supply of products complying with Euro-5 standards.
European emission standards define the acceptable limits for exhaust emissions of new vehicles sold in EU member states. The emission standards are defined in a series of European Union directives calling for the progressive introduction of increasingly stringent standards.
“The refinery has a sulfur recovery unit to reduce mazut output to less than 25% from the present 50%,” he added.
Farzaneh noted that the project, which started in 2017, has boosted the production of jet fuel by 10%.
Built in 1912, Abadan Oil Refinery is the first of its kind in Iran and was once the largest in the world.
The refinery, heavily damaged during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, produces 460 tons of propane and 16,000 barrels of butane. It also meets 25% of Iran’s annual need for jet fuel.
According to the official, the new crude distillation unit will reduce the production of heavy products such as mazut while increasing the output and quality of value-added light-duty products such as jet fuel.
The third phase is projected to cost $2 billion and add more high-tech units to the facility, some of which are kerosene hydrotreating, isomerization, naphtha hydrotreaters and continuously catalyst regenerative.
Farzaneh said close to 70% of equipment used in the project were purchased from domestic manufacturers.
Tehran Oil Refinery
According to Hamed Armanfar, the head of Tehran Oil Refinery, the production of gasoline compliant with Euro-5 emission standards will commence soon at the facility.
“The refining facility is producing 7 million liters of unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 87 [regular] on a daily basis. Nevertheless, projects are being carried out to enhance gasoline quality,” he added.
The completion of a Continuous Catalytic Reformer (CCR) unit and a Reduced Crude Desulfurization (RDC) unit, which have made 90% progress, will enable the refinery to produce Euro-5 gasoline in the near future. The two units are estimated to cost $250 million.
Euro-4 and premium gasoline have octane ratings of 91 and 95 respectively. The two units (CCR/RDC) will help increase octane to above 96 and decrease benzene level to under 1%.
The official noted that more refineries nationwide can start producing Euro-5 gasoline but need advanced technology and significant investments.
The National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company is now producing 115 million liters of gasoline per day, of which 79 million liters comply with Euro-5 emission standards.
"NIORDC's Euro-5 gasoline output was zero in 2013," Armanfar said, adding that Shazand Refinery in the central city of Arak, Markazi Province, started producing 17 million liters of high-quality fuel per day in 2014.
Output reached 28 ml/d in 2016 and rose to 43 ml/d in 2017, as the Bandar Abbas Refinery in Hormozgan Province also started producing Euro-5 gasoline.
The Persian Gulf Star Refinery in southern Hormozgan Province went on stream in mid-2017 because of which gasoline production increased by 76% to 76 ml/d. The venture in Tabriz increased the output to 79 ml/d.
Armanfar said the Tehran refinery project for reducing mazut production is in the preliminary phase.
Founded in 1969, Tehran Oil Refinery is located 15 kilometers south of the capital and includes two sections (southern and northern). Its crude refining capacity (250,000 barrels a day) has risen by 200% over the past five decades.
The company’s daily diesel output is 8 million liters, a part of which is sold in Tehran and Alborz provinces, and the rest is piped to Mashhad in Khorasan Razavi Province.
