Iran Crude, Oil Products Annual Distribution Capacity at 123bn
Iran is transmitting around 330 million liters a day of crude oil and petroleum products through 14,000 kilometers of pipeline. Transmitting such a big volume of petroleum products would need around 17,000 tank trucks. If we assume each tanker 22 meters long, we will be facing more than 374 kilometers of trucks.
The first oil pipeline in Iran was built in 1910 with a capacity of 120,000 tons a year, immediately after Abadan oil refinery was built. This pipeline connected oil storage facilities in Masjid Soleyman to the Abadan refinery. The pumps installed at this pipeline were steam-powered, which could handle 40,000 b/d. Today Iran can pump 320 million liters a day of petroleum products.
More than a century after the first pipeline was built in Iran, the country's oil distribution industry is handling approximately 123 billion liters of crude oil and petroleum products per year across the country. That is done through 14,000 kilometers of pipeline, 186 oil distribution centers, 215 telecom stations and pressure compression installations.
As an industry faithful to refining and exports, the oil distribution industry was launched in coincidence with the startup of the first oil refinery in Iran, and has since not ceased to grow. However, the installations and equipment for oil distribution in Iran are now in desperate need of renovation and replacement. The overhaul expenses of second-hand machinery, categorized within the framework of capital expenditure (CAPEX), is of high significance for production, refining, distribution, petrochemical and other such activities. Most often, these operations are halted due to overhaul and maintenance, inflicting heavy expenses on companies and Ministry of Petroleum. In the last Iranian calendar year to March 2017, the overhaul of physical assets of petroleum industry (including equipment and installations in the upstream and downstream sectors) were estimated at more than $400 billion.
IOPTC Manages Oil Transmission
The Iranian Oil Pipelines and Telecommunication Company (IOPTC), which is a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), has been tasked with the administration of oil pipelines all over Iran. The main task assigned to IOPTC is to feed refineries with crude oil and distribute petroleum products across the country.
The activities of this sector of petroleum industry are classified and defined based on specific fields, including daily maintenance, preventive and predictive overhaul and technical inspection. Of total investment in development projects, 65% has been earmarked for the supply of commodities and equipment. Therefore, administration of this sector could, to a large extent, contribute to reducing project costs.
Causing dynamism in relevant industries (manufacturing parts and taking measures to manufacture strategic commodities and equipment) will yield such effective results as the materialization of resilient economy, economic, industrial, and technological development, job creation, and development of a national model in the country. One of significant but largely marginalized sectors in Iran's petroleum industry is the system of transmission of energy carriers to points of consumption, production and refining.
Tens of thousands of kilometers of pipeline has already been constructed across Iran. Apart from gas transmission pipelines and pipelines carrying feedstock to petrochemical plants and power plants, some important pipelines pertain to crude oil and petroleum products across the country, which are tasked with providing feedstock to refineries and supplying fuel to the transportation sector. A total of 186 centers of oil transmission centers, installations and pressure compression stations are running round the clock to transmit crude oil to eight refineries across Iran. IOPTC receives petroleum products (like gasoline, kerosene, gasoil, fuel oil and jet fuel) from refineries and import points ,and transmits them to storage facilities connected to pipelines, some power plants, airports and some petrochemical companies. Generally speaking, IOPTC is handling a network with a capacity of transmitting over 123 billion liters of oil products a year through 14,000 kilometers of pipeline.
Eight of Iran's 10 refineries (Bandar Abbas and Lavan excluded) are connected to national trunkline for receiving crude oil. Moreover, eight refineries (Lavan and Shiraz excluded) send their products through IOPTC pipelines across the country.
IOPTC runs 4,500 kilometers of pipeline for carrying crude oil and 9,500 kilometers for carrying petroleum products, 186 oil distribution centers, as well as 293 telecom stations.
Supply of 1.2bn Barrels Crude Oil
Currently, more than 1.2 million barrels of crude oil plus 1 million barrels of petroleum products are being distributed on a daily basis across Iran. That is being done through real-time communications between different units of production, refining and consumption involved.
Since the transmission of cargoes with fixed volume may be carried out in several phases, this figure is really 1.6 mb/d.
In total, distribution of crude oil and petroleum products reaches 330 million liters a day in Iran. That is done by 12 local centers all across the country.
Currently, 66% of total crude oil and petroleum products distribution in the country is being handled by pipelines. In addition to environmental and operational advantages, using pipeline would cost one-fifth of tanker