Mohammad Ali Dadvar said the plant is now processing 450,000 barrels of gas condensate, adding the refinery supplies 47 ml/d of Euro-5 diesel.

He said each phase of the plant operates at 150,000 b/d of processing capacity, adding that by optimizing processes in the facility, the plant’s daily production capacity has reached 90,000 b/d.

Plans are underway to add another 90,000 b/d to the refinery’s capacity by the end of the current calendar year to March 20, he added.

Dadvar further said that the naphtha output of the facility is at an average of 40 to 50,000 b/d which is consumed by Arak and Tabriz petrochemical plants.

According to him, over $300 million worth of oil products of the refinery was exported overseas in the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 20, 2019), Dadvar stated.

Turning Islamic Republic of Iran from gasoline importer into potential exporter of this strategic product has been one of the salient achievements behind inauguration of third stage of the Persian Gulf Star Refinery in the last year (ended March 20, 2019), he stressed.

As the largest gas condensate production refinery in the world, Persian Gulf Star Refinery is located on western angle of Bandar Abbas Refinery, he said, adding, “production capacity of this refinery stands at 360,000 barrels of gas condensates.”

He made the remarks Monday in a ceremony held to launch the third phase of Persian Gulf Star Refinery in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan province.

“It is very painful for enemies to see that we are inaugurating three major and great national projects in one province during 24 hours despite sanctions against the Iranian nation which they [enemies] claim to be the harshest of its kind.”

Rouhani was referring to two refinery projects in Bandar Abbas which were inaugurated today and also to the joining of Fateh submarine to Navy’s fleet on Sunday.

“The Americans, Zionists and our enemies began their measures [against Iran] from last January, thinking that till January of this year everything would be over and that the Islamic Republic would not be able to celebrate its 40th anniversary,” he added.

“They said they were implementing the toughest sanctions, but people’s lives and Iran’s development continue,” he said, adding that these projects show that that our nation is moving rapidly towards self-sufficiency and greatness.

“Despite plots and sanctions, we were able to produce high-quality petrol to the amount we needed,” the official website of Iranian presidency quoted him as saying.

“During the war with Iraq, our refineries were bombarded every day but our oil sales never stopped … the entire world was helping Saddam, but we stood firm.”

Stating that, “an economic war is harder than a military war,” he continued, “we are not in normal conditions; but the enemy will definitely be forced to retreat from the economic war waged against us.”

“Trump’s standing alone on Iran,” said Rouhani, adding “chairing the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was a historic scandal for him and a great victory for us.”

He also went on to stress that, “the US is showing animosity against people’s wellbeing and lives.”

At the end of his speech, Rouhani, on behalf of the Iranian nation, appreciated the engineers and staff of the oil industry and the IRGC.

The projects are being launched on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Construction of the Persian Gulf Star Refinery began in 2006 in 730 hectares of land 25 km off the southern city of Bandar Abbas. The feedstock to run the facility is supplied by the condensate produced at South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf.

The plant is developed for production of 36 million liters of quality petrol per day. The third phase is to add 12 ml/d to the plant’s production capacity.

Although it was initially decided to develop the facility in three phases, officials including Alireza Sadiqabadi, the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), have announced plans to build the fourth phase of the mega project.

Once a project to bolster the production capacity and promote the quality of the items produced at Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery come online, the plant’s petrol quality would drastically improve.

The project entails a gasoil hydrogen unit, a power generator, nitrogen unit, sour water unit, Amine Contactor, light naphtha unit, and 17 storage tanks, which have all become operational.

Once the project comes on stream, petrol production capacity of the refinery would increase by 3 ml/d and 70 percent of its output would meet Euro-4 standards.

Moreover, commissioning the gasoil hydrogen refining unit of the facility would add 15 million liters per day of Euro-4 gasoil to the plant’s daily production capacity, and the petrol quality of the refinery is expected to meet Euro-4 standards by March.

The plant is currently supplying 12 ml/d of petrol and is fed by 350,000 b/d of crude oil and gas condensate and is touted as the third largest oil refinery in Iran.

According to Mohammad Ali Dadvar, managing director of the refinery, efforts are underway to fully develop the phase by the end of the current fiscal year (March 20, 2019).

“Once the third phase goes on full swing, PGSR’s daily gasoline output will reach 40 million liters per day,” the official added.

The refinery currently produces about 25 million liters of Euro-5 gasoline and 6 million liters of other products namely diesel and liquefied gas per day.

The key refinery was designed to help complete the value-added chain in the oil and gas industries.

PGSR, which is described as the Middle East’s largest refinery, is built in three phases. Each phase is designed to produce 12 million liters per day of high-octane gasoline and diesel, as part of efforts to wean Iran away from the fuels’ import.