Bids by 54 private firms for investment in eight new Siraf refineries in Bushehr Province are being reviewed by the oil ministry. Winners will be announced next week, said the planning and supervision deputy of the oil ministry Mansour Moazzami, ILNA reported.
Construction of the refineries is expected to commence by the end of the present Iranian calendar year (March 2015).
The projected output of the refineries is 480,000 barrels of petroleum products from gas condensate from the South Pars field in the Persian Gulf. Total construction cost is estimated at around $3 billion.
Kerosene, diesel fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will be the main products of the refineries.
Oil ministry broke down the large Siraf refinery contract into eight smaller ones to help raise funds for the construction phase.
Gas Production
Establishment of the Siraf refineries will help ensure the production and distribution of gas in the country, said Shahaboddin Mataji Kajouri, planning director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC).
The Siraf petrochemical plan is in line with the 'economy of resistance', a policy proposed by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to help counter the sanctions, promote domestic growth and reduce consumption.