DMEA: Downstream progress and plans

In this week’s DMEA, Iran prepares to kick off construction of a new refinery, while the Moroccan government has been called upon to clarify its downstream plans.

Iran is set to begin construction work on its 300,000 barrel per day (bpd) Shahid Ghasem Soleimani refinery as it builds out downstream processing capacity.

The country’s Minister of Petroleum Javad Owji said this week that work would begin on developing the new refinery in April alongside the 360,000 bpd Persian Gulf Star Refinery (PGSR) in the wider Bandar Abbas refining complex on Iran’s southern coast.

The refinery, named in honour of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated in early 2020, will be constructed at an estimated cost of $11.5bn.

Owji said: “For refineries such as Bandar Abbas, Tehran and Tabriz, the quality improvement plan and value added of their products have been defined in the form of eight projects,” referring to a country-wide downstream expansion project. He said that the projects would be commissioned swiftly, anticipating operations beginning within two or three years.

Meanwhile, a Moroccan support group this week called on the government to take an active role in supporting the country’s downstream industry following the shutdown of its only refinery in 2015.

The National Front for the Salvation of the Moroccan Petroleum Refinery asked Rabat to clarify its policy regarding the future of refining in Morocco, suggesting it should “encourage investors wishing to invest, stop negative neutrality and move to positive intervention”.

Societe Anonyme Marocaine de l’Industrie du Raffinage (SAMIR) operated a 200,000 bpd facility at Mohammedia until its closure.

SAMIR’s doors closed as debts had left it unable to finance fresh purchases of crude feedstock and Saudi-Ethiopian majority owner Mohamed al-Amoudi reneged on a promised capital injection. Al-Amoudi’s Sweden-based Corrall Petroleum Holdings held a 67% stake in the company.