A new gas condensate refinery, dubbed the Persian Gulf Star, will make Iran self-sufficient in gasoline production and will set the country on its way to turning into an exporter of the fuel, media reported at the inauguration of the refinery's first phase this weekend.
When it begins full operation, the Persian Gulf Star will have a daily capacity of 37 million liters of gasoline. In its first phase, it can produce 12 million liters of the fuel daily.
The refinery is being built by a construction company affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.
Currently, Iran produces some 700,000 barrels of condensate daily, but there are plans to boost this to a million barrels daily over the next two years. Iran is already exporting condensate, and last month the daily rate, which is a combined figure for crude oil and condensate, averaged 3 million barrels.
Separate figures for gas condensate were reported for January, when the exports reached 24 million barrels. Government officials at the time said that condensate output would reach a million barrels daily when the final development phase of South Pars is completed, but exports will be reduced, redirecting more condensate to local consumers.
The Persian Gulf Star refinery is one of two projects that will process the increased output. The other is the $2.8-billion Siraf condensate refinery park, which will consists of eight condensate refineries, each with a daily capacity of 60,000 barrels. Its construction is in the early stages.
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Iran has big plans for its downstream oil industry. Earlier this year, media reported that there are 12 new refineries in the works, to be added to the nine existing ones in Iran, which process 1.73 million barrels of oil equivalent. The aim is to make Iran self-sufficient in the gasoline department and expand its fuel footprint in Asian markets.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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Irina is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing on the oil and gas industry. More