Farhad Ahmadi told a press conference on the eve of the official startup of the project on Tuesday (December 13): “Implementation of this project started in September 2017 and during its implementation, it was faced with various challenges, including heavy sanctions, financial resources, the coronavirus pandemic, fine dust and unprecedented heat, but fortunately, during the past year, with the efforts of local experts it progressed more than 32%.”

He announced the project's investment at around €2.6 billion, and stated: “Due to the pressure of sanctions, the project was divided into two parts and €1 billion was invested in the first part.”

Referring to the opening of the first part of phase 2 of the Abadan Refinery Capacity Stabilization Plan in the near future, Ahmadi emphasized: "We hope that at the same time with the opening of this part, the ground would be broken for the start of the implementation of the second part of the second phase of the project.”

In the first part of this project, the capacity of the Abadan refinery will be fixed at 210,000 barrels per day, and with the implementation of the second part within three years, the quality of the produced items will also meet the European Euro 5 standard, which is planned to be implemented in the shortest possible time.