The thirdphase of the Persian Gulf Star Refinery came online Monday, markingself-sufficiency in gasoline with a total production of more than 100 millionliters per day.
“Fortunately,we do not need to import gasoline anymore. We have reached self-sufficiency. Wecan export our produced gasoline but have no export plans,” Zangeneh said afterthe inauguration in Bandar Abbas.
Iran hasimported no gasoline since September and sees no need to do so, because thecountry is now virtually an exporter of the strategic fuel.
“However, weintentionally do not export gasoline because we want to raise the country'sgasoline stocks,” Zangeneh said.
Despitebeing a major oil producer for decades, Iran struggled to meet its domesticfuel needs for years because of a lack of refining capacity which made thecountry prone to foreign sanctions.
However,when US President Donald Trump decided in May to reimpose sanctions on theIslamic Republic, he ruffled no feathers among fuel purveyors in Iran.
Iranproduced less than 50 million liters per day of gasoline before the formerObama administration imposed sanctions on Tehran in 2011 when consumption stoodat about 60 million liters a day. That meant the country had to purchase around10 million liters per day from international vendors.
Last summerwhen overall gasoline consumption stood at 91 million liters, Iran's productioncapacity had already surpassed 93 million liters, according to figures providedby Ministry of Petroleum.
The launchof the Persian Gulf Star Refinery’s third phase on Tuesday raised the overallgasoline production capacity to 105 million liters a day.
“This is a67% increase from last Aban (October 2017)” when Iran produced 63 millionliters a day of gasoline, Deputy Minister of Petroleum Alireza Sadeqabadi hassaid.
According toSadeqabadi, Iran will have produced 20 million liters of surplus gasoline inthe second six months of the Persian year which ends on March 21, PressTVwrote.
The PersianGulf Star Refinery is part of the giant South Pars production chain, with acapacity to take in 400,000 barrels per day of gas as feedstock. Zangeneh saidthe Refinery accounts for 20 percent of Iran's 2.1 million barrels of dailyrefining capacity.
Itsconstruction with 3.5 billion euros ($4.7 billion) of investment began in 2006and the first phase came into operation in April 2017 and the second phase lastJune. Zangeneh said the construction of the fourth phase will begin “in thenear future”.
Head ofKhatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, an Iranian engineering firm and oneof the main contractors involved in the refinery’s construction, said the planis to build “a 100 percent Iranian refinery” at phase four.
“In theprevious phases of the Persian Gulf Star Refinery, we imported 30 percent ofthe equipment, including hydrogen compressors,” Saeed Mohammad said.
“Theconstruction of these compressors, which require a very sophisticatedtechnology, has been delegated to the IRGC Aerospace Organization for reverseengineering,” he added.
His companyis affiliated to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). Mohammad said theentry of Khatam al-Anbia Construction Headquarters into the project was to fillthe void from the withdrawal of foreign companies after Iran came undersanctions.
Each of thethree phases of the Refinery are designed to also produce 4.5 millionliters/day of Euro-IV diesel, one million litters/day of kerosene and 300,000liters a day of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Zangenehsaid Iran is currently producing 76 million liters/day of Euro-IV and Euro-Vgasoline which is close to consumption figures.
Thiscapacity was zilch six years ago when Iran had to produce gasoline atpetrochemical units because of Western sanctions, leaving many cities and townsblanketed with a haze of choking smoke.
PresidentHassan Rouhani on Tuesday praised the inauguration, saying in a televisedspeech that it comes despite America's "imposing the harshestsanctions" on Iran.
Recently,President Hassan Rouhani in inauguration ceremony of the third phase of thePersian Gulf Star Refinery said Iran has started to tread the path ofself-sufficiency and no one can stop the move.
Since 2016in less than two years, the first, second and third phases of the Persian GulfStar Refinery were launched, said President Rouhani.
This meansIran is rushing toward self-sufficiency, he added.
He said thatit is far from fairness, patriotism, love to the Revolution and ethics toignore such big achievements.
PresidentRouhani added, 'There are some problems and shortcomings, but dealing with theeconomic war and sanctions, we faced some issues because the US and itsmercenaries are trying to increase pressure on Iran every day.'
'When theenemy throws a stone, they may break a piece of glass, but we shouldn’t bedisconsolate for that.'
Referring tothe Iraqi invasion of Iran during the rule of Saddam, he said, 'We resistedwith unity during the war; we should do the same thing and not getdisappointed.'
'In the1985, Iran's oil sales stopped totally, but through planning and strong will westarted selling it again.'
Rouhani saidIran was the victorious side of the war though it had a lot of problems and thewhole world helped Iraq.
But todayIran is in an economic war, he said, stressing 'We need to back each other'.
'If we failto stand by each other,' President Rouhani said, 'we cannot resist against theplots of the enemy.'
He also saidthat economic war is harder than the military one.
'In themilitary war everything is clear, but that’s not the case in the economic war.'
Iranianpresident went on to refer to efforts by US President Donald Trump'sadministration to ally with Washington all the other 14 members of the UnitedNations Security Council to issue a resolution against Iran.
'But at theend, all the 14 other UNSC members spoke against the United States and Trumpwho was also present at the UNSC session was isolated, Rouhani said.
He alsosaid, “Americans claim that their sanctions are not targeting the Iranianpeople, but they are working towards undermining the people's health andlivelihood.'
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