Shahid Soleimani Petro-Refinery

The development of the petro-refining industry is one of the projects sought by the developed and developing countries in a bid to generate higher value added. Developed countries set the ground for the significant growth of their petro-refining industries by setting up chemical parks and petro-refinery units and providing special instruments and facilities to these industries. These countries are trying to play a role in the future of the world energy market by developing industries for converting crude oil into profitable items. In the meantime, Iran, which has a long history in the world's refining industry, in coincidence with passing the law supporting the development of downstream oil and gas condensate industries, i.e. the law on the construction of petro-refineries, has taken an important step to move away from selling crude oil. Construction of 8 new refinery and petro-refinery projects with a capacity of 1.49 million barrels per day has been finalized, the most important of which being the "Shahid Soleimani Petro-Refinery".

The project of Shahid Soleimani Petro-refinery with a capacity of 300,000 barrels/day is one of the measures and plans of the Raisi administration in order to prevent the import of gasoline and to diversify the petroleum products mix, which, in addition to producing fuel, also supplies petrochemicals. Chemicals account for 25 to 30% of Shahid Soleimani Petror-refinery's output.

Diesel has a significant share in the product basket of the facility; besides, 35% of its products are kerosene, 15% gasoline, 11% propylene, 10% jet fuel, 9% ethylene, 8% fuel oil, 5% paraxylene and 2% benzene.

The composition and variety of products in the refinery have been taken into consideration with regard to the maximum production of petrochemical products and processing items such as benzene, xylene, propylene, butane, polypropylene, etc. The project is located near the Persian Gulf Star Gas Condensate Refinery in Bandar Abbas and about 438 hectares of land has been allocated to it. Shahid Soleimani Petro-refinery is one of the important projects in which the development of the value chain will be fulfilled, and oil products will be transmitted to central Iran through a planned network of pipelines. The project could be called the first project in the field of refining and petrochemical integration in the country that minimizes or even removes many of the challenges faced by both sectors especially for feedstock supply.

Furthermore, the plant will play an important role in changing the layout of Iran's pipelines and the transmission industry, in addition to meeting the country's domestic need for fuel and preventing its import. Promotion of technical knowhow, creating job opportunities and tapping the capabilities of domestic companies and knowledge-based firms are among other advantages of the project.

With the implementation of the project, the refining capacity in the Hormozgan region will exceed 1 mbd, which, together with the need to enhance the storage capacity of products in the region, will lead to the development of the country's fuel reserves and the creation of new infrastructures in the marine sector, export and jetties. The signing of the financial memorandum of understanding for construction of Shahid Mahdavi Oil Project is one of these measures, which will enhance the fuel storage capacity of the region by 600 million liters.

Preventing the gasoline shortage crisis, preventing gasoline imports, creating value added for the downstream products of oil industry, preventing sales of crude oil, passing behind refinery construction era and moving towards construction of petro-refineries, and diversifying the mix of petroleum products are among the other goals of this huge national project.

1st Project to Link Refining, Petchem Industries

Shahid Soleimani Petro-refinery is the first project of NIORDC in the field of refining and petrochemical integration. The purpose of building this refinery is to create value added and prevent crude sales in order to align the administration’s view and the Transformation Document. According to Salari, the NIORDC managing director, the challenges that have existed separately in both the refining and petrochemical sectors in the past will be minimized in this consolidation process. In other words, the entire chain is expected to be minimized. Considering the importance of the project in the field of production and transmission, technical know-how, job creation and the use of the domestic companies’ potential and the capacity of knowledge-based companies in Iran's oil industry, the project seems to provide Iran with the opportunity to continue its presence in global arenas.

NIORDC (20%), Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC), Tadbir Energy Development Group, Ahdaf Investment Company and the National Development Fund of Iran are the shareholders of Shahid Soleimani Petro-refinery.

Petro-refinery in Iran's Capital

Among the other measures taken by NIORDC to prevent crude sales and support the development of oil and gas condensate downstream industries, the activities of Tehran Oil Refinery towards construction of petro-refinery units could be underlined, which are being carried out according to the existing infrastructure in the refinery through quality improvement and turning to the production of petro-refining products. The refinery, which is more than 50 years old, plays an important role in the energy supply of the country, and over the last decade, has made important investments and taken measures in order to sustain the business, continue production, improve the quality of products, and most importantly, implement numerous projects in order to remove environmental pollutants from the production cycle.

Referring to the fundamental measures taken to upgrade the hub system of this refinery and moving towards petro-refining, Seyed Mustafa Tehrani, director of operations of Tehran Oil Refining Company, is quoted as saying: “We are trying to improve the quality of the products by using the maximum available capacity of the company. The most important step in this regard is building and launching the CCR project with the aim of improving the quality of gasoline and starting studies on the project of converting heavy products into chemical and petrochemical items; with the launch of this project, while boosting the octane number of our gasoline, its benzene rate will decrease.”

Increased production of heavy cuts in the company is another project under way at Tehran Oil Refinery, he added, saying: “With the studies and research conducted and cooperation with knowledge-based centers and engineering companies, we are considering entering the petrochemical and chemical realm based on the needs of the country and the emphasis of the petroleum minister, which will bring about a unique achievement for the company.”

According to him, in the design of new projects, two very important factors, determining the completion of the value chain and modifying the consumption pattern, are considered, so production of propylene, maleic anhydride, and isobutane is on the agenda. In general, there is a high capacity and a very suitable space for implementing various projects and diversifying the product portfolio in the petrochemical and chemical fields in Tehran Oil Refining Company.

Steam Production for Petro-Refining Units

Among other important measures in this field, the integration of the electricity network in this refinery could be mentioned; the capacity of electricity generation in Tehran Oil Refining Company is 120 MW, which is supplied from 3 power plants, provided the company's requirement is not more than 40 MW. Meanwhile, the ground is paved to sell 80 megawatts of surplus electricity to the neighboring industries or the power grid, and on the other hand, with HRSGs in full load conditions, in addition to the electricity generation efficiency, steam generation capacity for use in new units is available for construction of new petro-refining units, and subsequently, reducing fuel consumption and the environmental impacts. Furthermore, looking at the outlook of Tehran Oil Refining Company, it seems that this refinery has put movement towards renewable energies on its agenda, as its managing director says the company will be the first refining company in the country that will build a 500 megawatt solar farm, which will be implemented by holding tenders in the near future in line with production of clean and renewable energies.

Mahnaz Mohammad Qoli

Courtesy of Iran Petroleum