Iran Plans to Construct a New Petrol Refinery in Spain

Iran is planning on constructing a major petrol refinery in Spain and is currently in talks with a number of Spanish companies to see which would be willing to invest 50% of the capital required.

Vice-President and managing director of the National Iranian Oil, Refinery and Distribution Company (NIORDC), Abbas Kazemi, announced that this project to build a new refinery in Spain, capable of producing 200,000 barrels of crude oil on a daily basis, forms part of the country’s plans to guarantee sales of Iranian hydrocarbons (petrol) outside of its own borders.

Talks are already underway, but nothing has been finalised as yet. However, according to Kazemi, a number of Spanish companies have submitted their proposals to the company.

Finance will be split fifty-fifty between NIORDC and Spanish investors.

Sources have revealed that Spain’s two largest petrol companies, Repsol and Cepsa, will not be involved in the project.

And apparently, this news has come as somewhat of a shock to those in the industry, particularly as there are already nine petrol refineries in Spain that are producing plenty of crude oil.

Repsol has refineries in Cartagena, Bilbao, La Coruña, Tarragona and Puertollano (Ciudad Real); Cepsa is present in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva), Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Roque (Cádiz); and BP has its own refinery in Castellón.

The new part-Iranian plant is set to be one of the largest in the country, if it does have the capability of producing 200,000 barrels of crude oil a day. It will be slightly less productive than Repsol’s refinery in Cartagena and that of Petronor in Bilbao (220,000 barrels), and also Cepsa’s plant, whose daily output is 250,000 barrels.

Iran not only has plans to construct a refinery in Spain, it has also been negotiating with other countries such as Indonesia, Brazil and India to carry out similar projects there.

The idea behind this is to ensure that sales and exports increase without having to depend on revenue generated within its own borders.

Despite the fact that sanctions exist against Iran, the Arabic nation has voiced its preference to do business with Spain and collaborate in future projects together.

Source: www.eleconomista.es