Tehran February 7 2022: Iran will become a gasoline and gas oil importer in the next two or three years due to strong domestic consumption, oil minister Javad Owji said, the oil ministry’s news service Shana reported on Feb 6.
Domestic refinery capacity is set to increase by around 200,000 b/d within two or three years, he said. “We have signed contracts for an additional 1.46 million b/d to be implemented in a period of four to six years for refineries that produce feedstock for petrochemical plants,” the oil minister added. He pointed out that $2.5 billion to $3 billion is needed to add every 100,000 b/d of refining capacity, and funding will be arranged.
Iran is capable of exporting 2.5 million b/d of oil, with capacity at about 4 million b/d, he said. Gas output is 840 million cm/day.
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If US sanctions against Iran’s oil exports are removed, the country is able to raise output back to 2018 levels, Farrokh Alikhani, deputy managing director of National Iranian Oil Co., said, according to a a Feb. 6 report by news agency Naftkhabar that was posted to the NIOC website.
“We believe that there are requirements to reach 4 million b/d of oil production and we are seriously endeavoring to reach it in the next year (2022-2023),” Alikhani said.
Eventual US sanctions relief for Iran could ease oil market tightness, with a Biden administration official saying Jan. 31 that the six-month negotiations over the nuclear deal were entering their “final stretch,” though a full agreement that leads to unimpeded Iranian oil exports may not be implemented for months. Iran’s production was 2.5 million b/d in December, according to a monthly S&P Global Platts survey. Dated Brent assessed by Platts finished last week at a seven-year high of $93.55/b.
Owji said that the country is looking into major foreign investments from China and Russia.
“In the next eight years, we allocate $15 billion-$20 billion to develop oil and gas fields. Under the 25-year agreement with the Chinese, about the same amount will be invested… We try to reach the same deal with the Russians,” he said. “Within two-three months, we will hopefully sign contracts with Russian companies for the transfer of technology, manufacturing equipment and production increase,” he said.
