TEHRAN – Managing Director of Iran’s Persian Gulf Star Oil Company (PGSOC) has announced that the recent earthquake in southern Hormozgan province has not damaged any of the facilities at the Persian Gulf Star Refinery (PGSR) and the refinery is operating at full capacity.

As Mehr News Agency reported, Mohammad-Ali Dadvar stated that all facilities and operational units of the PGSR, which is responsible for producing 50 percent of the country's fuel basket, are operating normally after two strong earthquakes hit Hormozgan Province on Sunday.

“Due to the possibility of aftershocks, a meeting of the refinery’s crisis committee was held soon after the earthquake and the necessary resolutions were implemented in order to ensure the safety of the employees and the stability of the refinery,” Dadvar said.

According to the official, the PGSR staff are on full alert to solve any possible problems, to ensure the safe continuation of production operations and to prevent any interruption.

An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale hit Fin county, southern Hormozgan Province, at 15:37 local time on Sunday.

Persian Gulf Star Refinery in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan is the first of its kind designed based on gas condensate feedstock received from the South Pars gas field which Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf.

As the largest processing facility for gas condensate in West Asia, PGSR is planned to play a big role to turn Iran into an exporter of gasoline.

This refinery has increased Iran’s gasoline production to 110 million liters per day, while the country’s consumption is 74 million liters.

PGSR has made Iran independent in gasoline production, while an exporter of the product, which has been a big step to nullify the U.S. sanctions.

The refinery’s exported products during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-September 21) were 120 percent more than the products exported in the same period of time in the past year.

EF/MA