"The 400-km Nain-Kashan-Rey pipeline plus the 300-km Shazand-Qom-Rey will expand the supply network by 700 km," Alireza Sadeqabadi was quoted as saying by Shana, Oil Ministry news portal.
Close to 125 billion liters of crude oil and petroleum products pass through the 14,000-km transmission network every year.
Nain-Kashan-Rey pipeline is a macro plan launched in 2015 and is due to become operational soon. It cost $450 million, Financial Tribune reported.
The 20-inch pipeline, which has already been extended from Bandar Abbas to Nain, will facilitate supply of refined oil products, especially Euro-4 gasoline from the Persian Gulf Star Refinery to Tehran and other cities in the central and northern regions, he added.
It is designed to carry 50 million liters (equivalent to 360,000 barrels) of petroleum products per day. Without the pipeline, thousands of tanker trucks would be needed to move petroleum products.
Referring to the second project, Sadeqabadi said the 26-inch Shazand-Qom-Rey pipeline will transfer petroleum products from Shazand Refinery in Arak, Markazi Province, to Tehran.
According to Abbas-Ali Jafarinasab, managing director of Iranian Oil Pipeline and Telecommunications Company (IOPTC), the firm's Tehran office annually supplies over 45 billion liters of crude and petroleum products to the northern regions.
The office covers northern provinces, namely Gilan, Mazandaran, North Khorasan, South Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, Semnan, Golestan, Qazvin and Zanjan.
IOPTC is a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company.
Regular Inspections
The official said the company is employing methods such as intelligent pigging of pipelines, curbing corrosion of metals by using cathodic protection technique and regular inspections of installations to reduce accidents and augment safety.
Referring to installations in Tehran, he said main pipelines include the 14-inch Ray-Tabriz link, the 18" Ray-Qazvin- Rasht pipeline, the 22" Ray-Shahroud connection and the 16" Ray-Sari pipeline.
The company also supplies power plants with diesel in Tehran, Alborz and Gilan provinces when they have a shortage of gas that is the main feedstock.