Iran Able to Boost Gas
Export Capacity
The CEO of National Iranian Gas Company
(NIGC) has said the country is able to supply
more gas to foreign buyers.
“Iran enjoys necessary capacity and potential to
expand its gas exports to neighboring countries
and other buyers,” Hamid Reza Araqi said at an
international energy conference in Moscow.
He said that energy consumption in the world is
set to keep growing by 2030.
“Most energy consumption is in the power plants
and industries and gas will make up the main
source of energy in coming years,” added Araqi.
“In light of environmental issues, gas
consumption will follow an upward trend by
2030,” he said.
“Iran is among major producers of gas in the
world and in the near future most of Iran’s
neighbors will use Iran’s gas. That requires us
to prepare the ground for such conditions,” he
added. “With infrastructure created in Iran, the
country now owns the largest volume of gas
reserves in the world. Therefore, we can say that
a good future is awaiting Iran’s gas industry,” said
Araqi. “We have to focus on gas exports in order
to take maximum advantage of this God-given
endowment,” the NIGC chief said.
He said that all Iranian cities and 95% of Iranian
villages are connected to gas network, and most
industrial and petrochemical facilities are fed
with gas.

Bandar Abbas Oil
Refinery to Lift Gasoil
Output
The Bandar Abbas oil refinery in
southern Iran is set to increase its
premium gasoil production after a new
section as added to the treatment facility,
the CEO of the refinery said.
“The gasoil dehydrogenation unit at the
Bandar Abbas refinery is coming online
with a capacity of 50,000 b/d, which is
the largest unit at the refinery,” Hashem
Namvar said. “Once this section has come
online, premium gasoil production at the
refinery will reach 15 ml/d.”
He said that the dehydrogenation section
would reduce the sulfur content of gasoil
from 10,000 ppm to below 50 ppm while
the quality of gasoil at the refinery would
be upgraded to comply with Euro-4
standards.
“The isomerization unit is also close to
coming online,” said Namvar.
He said that the sulfur recovery unit is
under construction with 63% physical
progress, adding that it would come
online by next March.
The Bandar Abbas oil refinery plans to
upgrade the quality of its gasoline and
other refined petroleum products in a
bid to help protect the environment.
Under current plans, the quality of
gasoline will reach Euro-5 standards
while gasoil would comply with

Euro-4 standards

Petchem Plants
Output Hits 27mt
Iran’s petrochemical plants have brought
their combined production to about 27.5
million tonnes, director of production
control at the National Petrochemical
Company said. Qodratollah Farajpour said
this level of output was reached while
many petrochemical plants were being
overhauled. “Although a large number of
petrochemical units with a high output
were being overhauled and had halted
production, we witnessed such increase,”
he said.
He said that Maroun Petrochemical Plant,
the methanol, urea and ammonia unit of
Shiraz Petrochemical Plant, Fanavaran
methanol plant, Kharg Petrochemical
Plant and Zagros 2nd methanol, as well as
Arya Sasol Petrochemical Plant and Pars
Petrochemical Plant were put to overhaul.
“In spite of these widespread changes
in the first half of the [calendar] year,
figures and statistical data are promising
and we have so far managed to meet
nearly 80% of nominal capacity, which
is acceptable,” he said. Farajpour said
Iran’s petrochemical output reached
27.5 million tonnes in the first half of the
current calendar year, up 2% year-on-
year. “Since in the second half of the year,
we have had less overhaul and we expect
our production level to get closer to the
nominal capacity in the second half
than in the first half,” he added.
Stop Sanctions on Iran to Fix Prices
Iran’s governor for OPEC said
that US sanctions on Iranian
oil were “not feasible”. “Mr.
Trump is very angry with
some countries for not being
able to replace the Iranian
oil, and has expressed this
anger in his remarks to the
Saudi king and to OPEC for not
increasing output,” Hossein
Kazempour Ardebili said.
“We had earlier reminded the
US president of the fact that
there is no adequate capacity
to replace Iran’s oil in global
markets. Therefore, he has to
stop sanctioning, affronting
and insulting governments and
nations,” he said. He added that
any assistance and cooperation
in favor of the reimposition of
US sanctions against Iran would
be “hostile”. “In case Iran is
sanctioned, oil prices will go up.
Then, Russia and Saudi Arabia
could do nothing for supplying
extra oil on the market,” he said.
Kazempour Ardebili said the US
is providing military support to
two OPEC members while it has
imposed sanctions on two other
OPEC member states. “Under
such circumstances, the US
expects other OPEC members
to increase their production
in order to help reduce oil
prices. Such expectation is
unfounded and baseless,” he
added. “OPEC members have
no role in the oil pricing and oil
prices are determined based
on the market fundamentals
(supply and demand),” said
Kazempour Ardebili. He
regretted the silence of OPEC
secretary general and rotating
president vis-à-vis President
Trump’s affront to the
Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries, saying
OPEC members expect the   
two OPEC officials to respond
firmly to the US insults. He said
that OPEC’s August output was
870,000 b/d higher month-on-
month. “During this period,
decline in production by some
members totaled 468,000 b/d,”
he added. He said that non-
OPEC oil producers increased
their production 273,000 b/d
in August from the month
before, while production loss
among them was 293,000
b/d in the same period. He
said that Saudi Arabia and
Russia had increased their oil
production 415,000 b/d and
235,000 b/d compared with
their May output. “If we look
at the two countries’ rise of
production in comparison
to their commitments in the
Declaration of Cooperation,
we see Saudi Arabia and
Russia have had respectively
a 346,000 and 250,000 b/d
output rise, and this production
rise is a violation to the (OPEC)
agreement on output cut,”
Kazempour Ardebili said