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$48 bn to Be Invested in Oil Refineries
Alireza
Zeighami, deputy minister of petroleum for refining, told reporters on the
sidelines of the 16th International Oil, Gas, and Petrochemicals Exhibition
that Iran is currently producing 54 million liters of gasoline and 90 million
liters of gas oil per day. He added that the figures are expected to hit 99.7
million liters and 108 million liters by the end of Fifth Economic Development
Plan.
Zeighami,
who is also managing director of National Iranian Oil Refining and
Distribution Company, added that permission has been given to present gasoline
on the stock exchange.
He said
that since domestic production of gasoline is to hit 100 million liters per
day by the end of the Fifth Economic Development Plan, if a total of 55
million liters of gasoline are consumed in the country, about 30 million
liters per day will be surplus and allocated to exports.
Deputy
minister of petroleum in oil refining added that National Iranian Oil Refining
and Distribution Company has started exporting gasoline.
He added
that oil products are being exported to Armenia, Afghanistan, and Iraq and
single consignments of gasoline have been also exported.
The
managing director stated that permission for the export of naphtha has been
issued and domestically produced naphtha is mixed with gasoline to raise its
octane number to 87. Therefore, instead of gasoline with an octane number of
85, we export naphtha.
Zeighami
noted that in parallel to exporting gasoline, naphtha produced in domestic
refineries will be exported because it is more profitable than gasoline
exports.
"Since petrochemical plants need naphtha, domestically produced naphtha is
primarily set aside for domestic petrochemical plants and the surplus is
exported" he said. |
