“The cooling unit, which was slated to use foreign parts and equipment worth $7 million, was constructed with domestic equipment and cost $5 million,” Ali Naderinia was also reported as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana.
Since the refinery had added oil treatment units, it also needed a new cooling tower to supply water, he added.
In oil and gas refineries, industrial equipment is often jacketed or sleeved with flowing water to cool fluids and absorb process heat. This equipment generates a large heat load that can disrupt operations if not properly handled. Cooling towers are used to cool this process water for reuse.
Located in the southwest of Tabriz city, on 150 hectares, Tabriz Oil Refinery was established in 1978. It has a refining capacity of over 110,000 barrels per day.
Asmari oilfields in the southwestern Khuzestan Province supply crude oil to the refinery.
The most important products of the refinery include LPG, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, vacuum bottom, light and heavy fuel oil as well as sulfur. The total production capacity of the refinery is more than 5 million tons a year.
The refinery is currently the most important supplier of feedstock to Tabriz Petrochemical Company.
Another development project at the refinery is to reduce its fuel oil production. The refinery currently produces 1.4 million tons per year of fuel oil, which is primarily used as feedstock for tar.
The refinery is expected to reduce fuel oil production from around 25% of its output to below 5% by 2022.