Iran plans to surpass Saudis in refining capacity by 2012
NICOSIA — Iran has pledged to become the biggest oil refiner in the
Gulf by 2012.
Officials said Iran plans to increase oil refinery capacity from the
current 2.1 million barrels to 3.3 million barrels per day by 2012. They
said this would surpass the refinery capability of neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Iran has nine refineries and plans to construct another seven.
Aminollah Eskandari, director at the state-owned Refinery and Oil
Products Distribution Co., said Iran was the leading investor in the
refinery sector in the Gulf.
Eskandari said Iran would surpass Saudi Arabia
in refinery capacity in 2012. Riyad plans to reach a refinery capability of
three million barrels of oil per day by 2015.
"Given the economic growth of big consumers such as India and China, oil
producing countries have made huge investments in oil refining," Eskandari
told a Sept. 16 news conference.
