Tehran refinery boosts gasoline production capacity by 2.8m liters

TEHRAN,Aug.1(MNA) – A gasoline production unit came on stream on Tuesday at Tehran’s Shahid Tondgouyan refinery, aiming to boost its daily gasoline output by 2.8 million liters to reach 9 million liters. The refinery now accounts for 16 percent of the total domestic gasoline production. It is also producing some 11.5 million tons of diesel fuel. Some 9 trillion rials (around $730 million) has been invested in the development plan. A number of petrochemical projects will come on stream by the end of this year (March 20, 2013), which will boost the country’s gasoline output by around 12 million liters per day, to hit 70 million liters per day, the National Iranian Oil Production and Distribution Company’s managing director said in May. Gasoline production units at the Imam Khomeini, Shazand, Abadan, Tondgouyan and Lavan refineries will be put into operation by the end of the year, Alireza Zeighami said. Iran exported over 132,000 tons of gasoline, worth around $134 million, last year. According to Customs Administration data, the gasoline exports rose by 127 percent in value and 108.5 percent in volume, respectively, compared to the year before. Armenia, Afghanistan, the UAE, Iraq and Oman were the destinations for Iranian gasoline. 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.