Page 41 - IRANRptFeb21

9.0​ Industry & Sectors 9.1 ​Sector news
9.1.1​ Oil & gas sector news
Iran plans 30mn strategic oil reserve on Qeshm Island
Iran says it’s readied biggest gas refinery in Middle East, West Asia for operation
As pressure eases, Iranian oil exports edge upwards
Iran plans to build a strategic oil reserve with a storage capacity of 30mn barrels on the Strait of Hormuz island of Qeshm as a buffer against the impact of sanctions, the CEO of the Iranian company in charge of the project has told IRNA.
Under the plan, 60 strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs), each with the capacity to store 500,000 barrels, would be built on the arrow-shaped island of Qeshm, sitting at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, the head of Panahsaz Iran Engineering Company, Gholamreza Zenalpour, reportedly said.
Panahsaz is known for having helped indigenise construction knowhow for gas condensate reserves.
Several years ago, the company took on building cryogenic reserves for gas condensate, which requires storage at ultra-cold temperatures, after foreign companies shunned dealing with Iran under the threat of US sanctions. Zeynalpour said Panahsaz builds reserves at a cost around 40% lower than that typically charged by foreign companies.
At Iran’s giant South Pars gas field, €50mn was saved per each of eight phases in the construction of LPG reserves, he said.
Iran has readied the biggest gas refinery in the Middle East and West Asia for operation, officials said on January 19.
The Bidboland Gas Refinery Company facility in southwestern Khuzestan province will be inaugurated on January 21, according to the firm’s CEO, Mahmoud Aminnejad.
"Despite US sanctions, the Bidboland gas refinery has been built by the experts of Iran and is ready for operation," Aminnejad told the official IRNA news agency.
"More than 3.4 billion US dollars have been invested in the construction of the large refinery. It is able to collect all the gases associated with oil extraction in Iran and turn them into useful gas," he was also cited as saying.
The refinery’s gas production capacity—ranging across methane, ethane, butane and propane—was 2bn cubic feet (56.6mn cubic metres) per day, the CEO said, adding: "For the construction of the plant, more than 1,000 km of feed and transmission pipelines have been built, and it is currently the third top project of its kind in the world."
The refinery is to employ more than 1,100 people.
Separately, Iran is reportedly looking to poach Saudi oil contracts, especially with “coveted Asian customers, with new projects,​according to OilPrice.com​.
Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zanganeh said last week that a sharp increase has been experienced in the country’s oil exports following the end of the Presidency of Donald Trump in the US.
While the increases have been modest, with Bloomberg quoting various industry sources as saying that the gains are around 30,000-50,000 barrels per day (bpd), they represent increased confidence on behalf of buyers though covert practices continue to be employed to maintain a lack of clarity about sales.
41​ IRAN Country Report February 2021 www.intellinews.com