Iran to sue European, US firms for breaching refining contracts
By Sara Rajabova
Tehran is taking legal action against European and American companies for their failure to honor refining contracts with Iran.
"Iran will file a complaint against European and American companies for their non-compliance with the terms of their contracts with Iran for the implementation of refining projects," Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Alireza Zeighami said on Sunday, Press TV reported.
The official said that the said companies had signed agreements with private refineries which are officially exempt from US-engineered sanctions targeting Iran's energy sector.
Zeighami, who is also managing director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), added that Iran has pushed ahead with its refining projects even in the absence of foreign companies.
He also said three projects on modernization of the oil refining operation will be launched in Iran until the end of summer.
According to Zeighami, projects are implemented at refineries in Tabriz, Isfahan, Laban. Implementation of projects on modernization will allow producing gasoline that meets Euro-4 standard.
He said last week that Iran has started distributing gasoline conforming to Euro-4 in four cities, which are Tehran, Karaj, Ahvaz, and Arak.
Once the gasoline production units of Lavan, Esfahan, Bandar Abbas and Tabriz refineries come on stream, the country's production capacity of gasoline conforming to Euro-4 will rise to 50 million liters per day.
By inauguration of these projects, distribution of Euro-4 gasoline would be set up in four more cities including Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, Mashhad and Esfahan, Zeighami said.
The country's production capacity of diesel oil conforming to Euro-4 and Euro-5 would also rise to 40 million liters per day by the end of the current Iranian calendar year which ended March 20, 2014, Zeyqami explained.
Zeyqami had previously said that once the gasoline production units of Lavan, Abadan and Tabriz refineries come on stream, the country's gasoline production capacity would increase by six million liters per day.
The projects will come on stream in six months, the IRNA News Agency quoted him as saying.
Thereafter the country's gasoline production capacity would surpass Iran's consumption rate so we can stop production of gasoline in the petrochemical complexes, Zeyqami added.