TEHRAN – Shazand Oil Refinery in Arak, 300 km southwest of Tehran, will be going through a major development plan to increase its share of national gasoline production to 44 percent, managing director of the refinery said on Wednesday.

“It is part of the 20 nationwide projects in this field by National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) to boost domestic gasoline capacity to propel the country towards self-sufficiency in this sector,” Lotfali Chavushi added.

The Sinopec of China and Iranian companies, already forming a consortium of 34% and 66% respectively, will complete the project in 45 months at the final cost of €1.75b with floating capital of €300m, he noted, stipulating that the preliminary work at the site has already been kicked off and the construction is to be assumed in a year, he elaborated.

Shazand Refinery of Arak is the single most leading producer of gasoline in Iran with 17 percent of country’s total at 4.5 million liters per day.