Iran to inaugurate two major petrochemical units soon

TEHRAN,Jan.31 (MNA)--Iran will soon inaugurate two important petrochemical units at the Shazand oil refinery, located in central Markazi province, which will pave the way for boosting gasoline production capacity at the refinery by 8.2 million liters per day, an official with the National Iranian Oil Production and Distribution Company said. Rashid Seyedian told that the project will raise daily gasoline output at the Shazand refinery to 16 million liters. Seyedian had previously announced that some €270 million has been invested in the project and the units will come on stream by February 19. Four development plans will be put into operation by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 19), boosting the country's gasoline production capacity to 70 million liters per day. Iranian gasoline imports have slumped by as much as 95 percent over the last four years, according to official government data, as rising refinery capacity and lower fuel subsidies help neutralize Western sanctions aimed at starving Tehran of fuel.