The construction of the fourth power plant at Abadan Refinery in Khuzestan Province is underway to provide electricity for the second phase of the refinery, the head of Water, Electricity and Steam Department of Abadan Oil Refining Company said.
“In the first step, a gas unit with a nominal capacity of 30 megawatts will become operational by the end of the current Iranian year [March 2024],” Karim Afshari was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news service Shana.
“The second phase of the refinery needs 150 MW of electricity, of which 60 megawatts are currently supplied. Another 30 MW unit will come on stream next year and the last 30 MW unit of the fourth plant will be completed by 2026,” he added.
The first part of the second phase of the refinery’s expansion plan, launched in March, not only helps improve environmental conditions but also increases the supply of gasoline and diesel complying with Euro-5 emission standards.
The development project has increased the facilities’ daily refining capacity by 50% to reach 630,000 barrels.
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.
Because the crude processing facility is equipped with the hydrogen production unit, it helps 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%. The project, which started in 2017, has boosted the production of jet fuel by 10%.
First Refinery
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.
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 of the development plan is projected to cost $2 billion and add more high-tech units to the facility, some of which are kerosene hydrotreating, isomerization and naphtha hydrotreaters.
Soon, all products of the refinery will be manufactured according to the Euro-5 standard. Reducing environmental pollutants as well as increasing kerosene and premium gasoline [with higher octane] output are among other goals of the project, which will be achieved by grounding old units and building new units.
The rise in refining capacity will also pave the way for the export of surplus products.
Close to 70% of equipment used in the project have been manufactured by domestic producers.
Boosting the quality and output of oil refineries and building new refineries across the country are on the agenda of the National Iranian Oil Company, affiliated to the Oil Ministry, for increasing Iran's refining capacity, including crude oil and gas condensates, to 3.5 million barrels per day from the current 2.3 mb/d.
