To help expand the output of value-added products at Isfahan Oil Refining Company in the central Isfahan Province, the facility is carrying out projects to double its gasoline production conforming with Euro-5 emission standards over the next two years, managing director of the firm said.
“Currently, Euro-5 gasoline output stands at around 13 million liters per day that will reach 26 ml/d in 2025,” Mohsen Qadiri was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
The complex accounts for 25% of Iran’s total oil derivatives’ supplies and it delivers its byproducts to 16 provinces, he added.
The official said the refinery has adopted export-oriented policies and by 2025, all its products, except for gasoline, will be sold in international markets.
According to Qadiri, close to $700 million are invested in ongoing initiatives in the refinery annually and there are no financial constraints in this regard.
“US sanctions have overshadowed neither our short-term goals nor our long-term plans, as 95% of the refinery’s equipment, machinery and catalysts are produced domestically and the rest are purchased with no difficulties,” he said.
Commenting on the facility’s ongoing ventures, he noted that an 85-km railroad is being extended to connect the complex to the eastern flank of the province to facilitate exporting goods.
The construction of a 1 gigawatt solar farm has made swift progress and its first phase (200 megawatts) will be linked to the national power grid in July.
Diesel Production
A diesel treatment unit was launched last year to boost diesel production in compliance with Euro-5 emission standards at the complex.
“Costing $600 million, the project has reduced sulfur content in diesel from 10,000 parts per million to less than 10 ppm,” he said.
“The company now produces 4 million liters of Euro-5 diesel a day and output will rise fivefold.”
IORC launched a sulfur granulation unit with a daily capacity of 300 tons in 2020. The move was also in line with policies to reduce environmental pollution and upgrade the quality of refined products.
“Both plans are aimed at minimizing the environmental impact of sulfur in the air and curbing emissions,” the company’s managing director said.
Sulfur is used mainly to produce sulfuric acid, an important chemical widely used in the fertilizer, rubber, steel manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries.
Established in 1979, the refinery produces 25% of the country’s petroleum products, including 16 million liters of Euro-4 diesel, 8 million liters of Euro-4 and 13 million liters of Euro-5 gasoline per day.
The company has succeeded in removing aromatic compounds, sulfur and benzene from AW-406 solvent and converting it to ++AW-406 solvent.
Isfahan’s refinery is the main supplier of feedstock to Sepahan Oil Company, Isfahan Petrochemical Plant, Arak Petrochemical Plant, Jey Oil Refining Company and Iran Chemical Industries Company.
Crude oil needed by the refinery comes from Maroun Oilfield in Khuzestan Province via a 430-km pipeline.
Environmental Commitments
As per its environmental commitments, the company is making efforts to reduce the amount of sulfur in mazut and gradually reduce the production of this eco-unfriendly fuel by converting it into other products.
According to Qadiri, the company's wastewater treatment unit has been launched to help meet the refinery’s water requirements.
"The plant, with a capacity of 750 cubic meters per hour, cost $8 million and was built in two years. The refinery buys wastewater from towns like Shahin-Shahr in the vicinity of the company. The municipal wastewater is piped to the refinery and reused after treatment in the new plant,” he said.
The huge refinery consumes 1,000 cubic meters of water per hour, of which 700 cm are recycled and reused.
"We have been grappling with water scarcity for a long time," he said, adding that the company processes 375,000 barrels of crude a day but cannot be sustained for long unless the refining units have sufficient access to water.
Located in the arid regions of Iran with minimal precipitation, Isfahan Province has been struggling with drought for seven years.
Reportedly, water flow into Zayandehroud Dam was 1.2 billion cubic meters in 2017, which has now declined to 400 million cubic meters.
"Of the total flow, 320 mcm are used for drinking purposes and the rest for industries," he said, noting that due to the dramatic decline in precipitation, industries have to reduce water consumption by at least 25%.
Tapping into non-conventional resources (drainage water, water containing toxic elements, sediments and treated or untreated wastewater effluent) has become a compulsion to help reduce the gap between water supply and demand.
