“Completion of a development plan, costing $222 million, has helped the refinery enhance gasoline quality, raise production and profitability, increase gasoline octane and reduce environmental pollution,” Mohammad Ali Akhbari was quoted as saying by ILNA.
The plan included construction of a distillation unit, hydrogen purification and light naphtha isomerization units, catalytic converters, and a sulfur recovery unit.
It has helped reduce production of heavy products such as kilns, increase output of value-added light-duty products such as liquid gas, gasoline and gas oil, adding new products like jet fuel and sulfur to the company's product portfolio, improve economic performance, and create jobs, according to Financial Tribune.
The main policies and objectives of Lavan Refinery is to produce clean and value-added oil products, diversify production, reduce crude oil exports, help protect the environment, reduce energy consumption, maximize utilization of domestic capacities, improve the knowledge and experience of human resources and move towards sustainable development, Akhbari noted.
Founded in 1976 on Lavan Island in southern Hormozgan Province, the refinery has a capacity of refining 55,000 barrels of oil per day. It receives 35,000 barrels of crude from Salman, Reshadat, Balal and Resalat offshore oilfields along with 20,000 barrels of ultra light condensates from South Pars Gas Field.
Lavan and the Persian Gulf Star Refinery in Hormozgan, which went on stream in mid-2017, are the main gasoline production centers.
Quality Product
Close to 80% of domestic production of gasoline meets Euro-4 and Euro-5 standards.
Of the total output of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (115 million liters per day), almost 90 million liters is compliant with international standards.
According to the bar set by the European Union, sulfur level in the fuel should not exceed 50 parts-per-million. European emission standards define the acceptable limits for exhaust emissions of vehicles.
Despite sitting on the world's fourth-largest proved crude oil reserves, Iran has been reliant on imports to meet domestic gasoline demand for a long time.
Iran was a gasoline importer for almost four decades because local refiners could not meet growing demand.
However, this January Iran reached self-sufficiency in gasoline production and put an end to dependence on the costly import of fuel. Since then domestic refineries produce enough gasoline for local demand, which is estimated to be around 100 million liters per day.
The extra output is exported to neighboring states including Iraq, Afghanistan, Armenia, the littoral Arab states and the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.