TEHRAN- The managing director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) said on Saturday that the executive operations of Shahid Soleimani petro-refinery complex will begin within the next few months, Shana reported.

Making the remarks in the signing ceremony of a contract on ceding 450 hectares of the Special Economic Zone in Bandar Abbas in southern Hormozgan Province, Jalil Salari said the National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Company (NIOEC) is carrying out the project’s assessment and studies.

The contract was inked by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) and the Shahid Soleimani Petro-Refinery Company.

Salari said the main aim of the plant setup is to complete the petrochemical industry’s value-added chain.

According to the official, 25 percent of the plant’s production capacity will be allocated to petrochemicals and a limited volume of gasoline – around 6.5 million liters – will also be produced.

The petrochemical and gasoline output of the complex could be increased if needed, he added.

The expertise and technical know-how of domestic companies, including the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) and knowledge-based firms, will be used to implement the project, said Salari, adding “We have earlier applied the knowledge of the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) to construct such facilities.”

A big company comprising Shahid Soleimani, Persian Gulf Star, and Bandar Abbas refineries will be set up to produce a part of the products and equipment required for the project, Salari finally announced.

Back in August 2022, major Iranian banks signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) with domestic companies to provide $17.8 billion for the construction of Morvarid Makran refinery and Shahid Soleimani petro-refinery.

Shahid Ghasem Soleimani Petro-refinery, is going to have a total processing capacity of 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), and nearly 65 percent of the products produced in this petro-refinery will be fuels and 35 percent will be chemical products.

The MOUs for funding the mentioned complexes were signed in a ceremony attended by President Ebrahim Raisi and Oil Minister Javad Oji.

During the ceremony, Bank Meli Iran, Tejarat Bank, and Refah Bank signed an MOU with NIORDC, the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC), Ahdaf Investment Group, and Tadbir Energy Development Group for investing $11.1 billion in Shahid Ghasem Soleimani Petro-refinery.

EF/MA