Iran’s diesel export has reached 15 million liters per day, the recently appointed managing director of National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company said on Saturday.
“Following a rise in gas supply to power plants and lower consumption of diesel as feedstock in power generation, exports of petroleum products, including diesel, have increased,” Mansour Riahi was quoted as saying by IRNA.
The UAE and Singapore are the biggest importers of diesel from Iran. Close to 1.5 million liters per day are traded at the land borders. "The bulk of diesel exports is conducted via sea routes to Fujairah Port in the UAE as well as to Singapore," said the official.
“Iran can further boost the export of oil byproducts. However, a lack of infrastructure in oil terminals hinders the move,” said Abbas Kazemi, managing director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, NIOPDC’s parent company.
Officials say the launch of South Pars Gas Field’s new phases, and the increase in natural gas output, has led to a drop in domestic demand for diesel and increased outbound supplies.
According to reports, Iran’s current capacity of diesel production has reached 95 million liters per day, which is planned to increase by another 5 million liters per day after launching the first development phase of the delayed Persian Gulf Star Refinery in the port city of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan Province.
Infrastructure Key to Export Rise
Officials say that upgrading Iran's southern oil terminals, including the Kharg Terminal in the Persian Gulf, and developing the infrastructure such as pipelines and storage facilities will help boost diesel exports to more than 20 million liters per day. The Kharg terminal, which was once the world's largest crude terminal before the Iraq-imposed war in the 1980s, plays a pivotal role in achieving Iran's oil export policy.
In the past few years, measures have been taken to raise the terminal’s oil and byproducts transportation capacity.
Development of infrastructures in Kharg terminal has made possible ship-to-ship (STS) oil transfer method which is carried out via advanced mechanical loading arms.
STS operation is the transfer of cargo between seagoing ships positioned alongside, either while sailing or stationary.
Mehdi Hassani, an official at the Iranian Oil Terminals Company, said in July that engineering work on the first marine loading arm for use in Kharg Terminal is also in the final stages.
"The arm will mark a turning point in Iran's oil industry if it successfully passes the operational tests," he added.
