The long-awaited Persian Gulf Star Refinery (Setareh Khalij-e-Fars in Persian) with an overall capacity of 360,000 barrels of gas condensate will be inaugurated by January 2016, managing director of the Tamin Petroleum and Petrochemical Investment Company (TAPPICO) said Saturday.
The refinery, with a physical progress of 83 percent so far, will produce 12 million liters (ml) of Euro-4 Standard gasoline per day once the refinery’s first phase goes on stream in January; IRNA quoted Mahmoud Shiri as saying.
Completion of the project was delayed due to a lack of financing. The loss in profit due to startup delay is estimated at $3-4 billion, according to Shiri. “The refinery’s annual revenues would amount to $10 billion had it gone into operation when oil prices were around $100 per barrel. But the refinery is now expected to engender $6-7 billion in revenues,” he noted.
The global price of oil had been relatively stable for nearly four years, averaging $110 per barrel. Prices have tumbled almost 60 percent since June, hitting near six-year lows as growing production and tepid global demand has caused a supply glut. Brent crude was traded at $65.39 a barrel after hitting a session high of $66.01 on Friday.
The refinery is expected to produce 360,000 barrels of gas condensate, 27 million liters of regular gasoline, 9 million liters of super gasoline, 14 million liters of diesel, and 370,000 liters of jet fuel per day once fully operational. Daily production of 3.8 million liters of liquefied gas, 130,000 tons of sulfur, and 468 tons of hydrogen is also among the refinery’s objectives.
A total of $3 billion was invested for construction of the refinery so far. Allocation of 650 million euros ($731.7 million) by the National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI) is expected to facilitate implementation of the project.
The National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) is at the helm of the refinery’s sale policies. According to plans, products are expected to be sold domestically due to their high quality, Shiri said, adding that products from other refineries will be exported.
Iran is set to start export of gasoline upon completion of the Persian Gulf Star Refinery in the port city of Bandar Abbas in less than two years.
