Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Iran's National Petrochemical Company (NPC) is to inaugurate two new petro-refineries in the Abadan and Tabriz facilities to produce benzene and butylene, Press TV reported.

NPC Director for Planning and Development Ramezan Owladi said there is a possibility of producing benzene at Tabriz Oil Refinery and butylene at Abadan Oil Refinery.

Owladi said the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) and the country's petrochemical sector have also discussed the projects, which are aimed at integrating Iran's oil refineries and petrochemical complexes to enhance profitability and reduce costs.

"Currently, the construction and commissioning of oil refineries are less profitable compared to petro-refinery projects," Owladi said, adding that countries like China and Saudi Arabia have also moved toward petro-refinery projects.

On March 14, Iran commissioned its biggest gasoline production hub with a daily production capacity of 16 million liters near the central city of Shazand. The country's first petro-refinery at Shazand Oil Refinery can also produce an average of about one million liters of propylene per day.

Iran has expanded the range and volume of its petrochemical production significantly over the past few years, and the NPC has become the second largest producer and exporter of petrochemicals in the Middle East.

The country exported a total of 18.2 million tons of petrochemical and polymer products, worth about $14.2 billion, to more than 60 countries in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended March 20, 2013.

Besides, Iran's Oil Ministry spokesman Alireza Nikzad Rahbar has said that Iran is fully prepared to build small oil refineries in other countries.

He noted that Tehran has already signed agreements with Baghdad and Islamabad under which Iran is to build several refineries in Iraq and Pakistan.

Iraq reportedly plans to construct an oil refinery in the town of Nahrain, just south of Baghdad, with a capacity of 140,000 barrels per day. The second refinery will be built in the town of Kuya, and is projected to yield 70,000 bpd.

Iraq also plans to build a refinery for export purposes in the city of Nassiriya, situated 365 kilometers (226 miles) south of Baghdad, with a capacity of 300,000 bpd and another in Amara, located 300 kilometers (185 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

Iraq's Oil Ministry announced in May 2007 that it had invited Iranian firms to build at least four oil refineries across the country to help it overcome fuel shortages.