Ali Ahmadipour said Iran currently transports about 180 million liters of petroleum products and roughly 200 million liters of crude oil per day through pipelines nationwide. He described the current year as one of the busiest and most decisive periods for the company, citing completed projects, ongoing developments and future plans.

Ahmadipour said Iran previously had about 14,000 kilometers of product pipelines. With the commissioning of new lines this year, the total has reached 15,000 kilometers. The additions include about 220 kilometers of the Tabriz–Khoy–Urmia pipeline, more than 330 kilometers of the Sabzab–Shazand line and roughly 460 kilometers of the Bandar Abbas–Rafsanjan pipeline.

Six power plants linked to pipeline network

Ahmadipour said 25 power plants are now connected to the national pipeline network, including six that were linked during the current administration. Two additional plants — Taban Yazd and Semnan-e Sirjan — are expected to be connected by the end of the year, each receiving about 20 million liters of fuel per month via pipeline. He said connections for the Lushan and Shariati Mashhad power plants are also underway.

He said new pipelines are being designed with fiber-optic infrastructure and expanded use of the SCADA control system, along with the installation of distributed acoustic sensing systems to detect movement or interference near pipelines and leak-detection systems.

These technologies allow leaks or external interference — whether natural or human-caused — to be identified and addressed quickly and accurately, he said. Annual losses of petroleum products along the network total less than 5 million liters, which he said should not be considered large-scale smuggling, but added that smart monitoring systems help detect any unauthorized withdrawals rapidly.

Oil and product transfers rise in first nine months

Ahmadipour said the volume of crude oil and petroleum products transported through pipelines during the first nine months of the current Iranian year rose by about 6% compared with the same period last year, reaching roughly 112 billion liters. The figure was about 105 to 106 billion liters in the year-earlier period.

Fuel deliveries to power plants during the nine-month period totaled 4.3 billion liters, up about 34% from 3.2 billion liters a year earlier, he said.

He added that transporting this volume by road would require about 6,000 product tankers and between 5,500 and 6,500 crude oil tankers operating daily.

Ahmadipour said one of the most significant projects completed this year was the 14-inch pipeline north of Lake Urmia, stretching 220 kilometers. Construction had begun several years ago but remained stalled until recently.

First phase of Sabzab–Shazand pipeline operational

Ahmadipour said the Sabzab–Shazand pipeline became operational this year after completing required work and is now supplying fuel to the Urmia power plant depot. The project had previously been planned for inauguration but was delayed because conditions were not ready, he said.

He said the 30-inch Sabzab–Shazand pipeline, extending 102 kilometers, was inaugurated in September in a ceremony attended by President Masoud Pezeshkian and Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad. The Sabzab-to-Tang-e Fani section began operating at full capacity of 450,000 barrels per day in September. The second section, a 26-inch line from Tang-e Fani to the Shazand pumping station spanning 239 kilometers, was completed and became operational by late December.

The pipeline currently transports about 70,000 to 80,000 barrels per day of sour crude oil to the Shazand refinery, he said. With the installation of permanent pumps and rotating equipment, capacity is expected to rise to about 120,000 to 130,000 barrels per day. Before the line became operational, crude oil from southern Iran and the Ahvaz region was transferred via a 26-inch pipeline that supplied the Shazand refinery and part of the feedstock for the Tabriz refinery.

Higher product capacity on Bandar Abbas–Rafsanjan route

Ahmadipour said the first phase of the 26-inch Bandar Abbas–Rafsanjan product pipeline, about 460 kilometers long, came into operation in January last year and has since been transporting about 11 million liters of products per day. He said the line has played a key role in easing fuel imbalances for power plants and has eliminated the need for about 1,600 fuel tankers on roads.

He said permanent equipment for the pipeline has not yet been installed and is either being manufactured domestically or has not yet arrived. Once the main equipment is in place by year’s end, capacity is expected to rise from about 100,000 barrels per day to 300,000 barrels per day, equivalent to roughly 48 million liters of products daily.

Ahmadipour praised the company’s operational staff, saying employees at pumping stations, telecommunications sites and along mountainous routes work around the clock in harsh weather conditions to keep energy flows uninterrupted. While the public sees fuel tankers on highways, he said, the system also depends on the continuous operation of 300 telecommunications stations and 4,000 kilometers of fiber-optic lines to ensure reliable fuel supply to power plants and consumers.