Iran is closer to achieving self-sufficiency in gasoline by raising its national production capacity to more than 100 million liters daily, Iranian media report.
The increase will come from a capacity increase at the Persian Gulf Star refinery on the Persian Gulf, which is fed condensate from the giant South Pars gas field that Iran shares with Qatar.
The Persian Gulf Star began operation in 2017, with a production capacity of 12 million liters of gasoline and diesel daily. Two expansion phases later, the refinery has a daily capacity of 360,000 barrels daily of condensate and 36 million liters of gasoline per day.
The facility, billed to be the biggest condensate refinery in the Middle East, will, according to local media, immunize Iran from the grave effects of U.S. sanctions as it will enable it to export high-value products, which are in high demand especially in Asia.
Iran is also investing in another refinery, Nagapattnam, located in India and operated by an Indian company. India is a key market for Iran, especially amid the sanctions, which would explain Tehran’s efforts to make its Indian buyers happy. The Economic Times reported earlier today Iran will shoulder a portion of the US$4-billion investment necessary to boost the facility’s annual processing capacity to nine million tons of crude. The operator of the Nagapattnam refinery is Chennai Petroleum.
Speaking of India and its crude oil purchase arrangements with Iran amid U.S. sanctions, Indian media reported this week the government has exempted all payments for Iranian crude oil from taxes. The payments would be made in rupees to bank accounts in an Indian bank and although such transfers are subject to a 40-percent tax, these will be an exception.
In exchange, according to the government, the National Iranian Oil Company, which will be the receiver of the payments, undertakes to not carry out any activity in India other than receiving the payments for the crude oil imports.
