The minister’s visit is concurrent with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 29^th provincial tour.

Vaziri-Hamaneh also meets and confers with Isfahan Oil Refining Company’s managers and staff.

He is briefed on the development of Isfahan Refinery this afternoon that aims to boost its gasoline output, reduce furnace oil production, produce more light oil products, promote the quality of products according to 2005 European standards, and observe environmental issues.

Based on the development plan, 80 thousand barrels of current 90 thousand barrels of furnace oil the refinery is producing will be converted to light oil products.

With a daily output of 376 thousand barrels of oil products, Isfahan Refinery is Iran’s second-largest refining complex.

National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Co. (NIORDC) Managing Director Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh said domestic and overseas private sectors helped the country construct four refineries of Persian Gulf, Hormuz, Anahita, and Pars.

He added Iranian refineries’ current capacity stood at 1.625 million barrels per day.

“The capacity will soar to 2.94 million barrels when the development plans are put into operation,” said the NIORDC head, adding the gasoline production and gas oil output in 2001 amounted to 37 million liters and 71 million liters daily respectively, predicting the figures would rise to 45 million liters and 82 million liters in the current year.

He said the growth rate of gasoline consumption between 2002 and 2006 was 10 percent.

“When the new refineries come on stream, the gasoline production capacity will increase to 163 million liters from 42 million liters while the gas oil output will soar to 139 million liters from 80 million liters, kerosene to 42 million liters from 23 million liters, and gas liquid to 28 million liters from 8 million liters, but the furnace oil production will be less than the current 76 million liters as it will be transformed to light products,” Nematzadeh predicted.

Elaborating on the contracts the NIORDC signed in the previous year, the official said, “We inked contracts, valued at some 8 million dollars, on gas production in Abadan, Isfahan, Bandar Abbas, Tehran, Tabriz, Arak, and Fars refineries.”