ABADAN -- The phase three of the Abadan Oil Refinery’s development plan is 80 percent complete, the refinery’s managing director said here on Sunday.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) quoted Alireza Abhaji as saying that the project is estimated to come on stream by mid-March 2010.
“Once the unit is put into operation, the refinery’s gasoline output capacity will rise to 16 million barrels per day from the current figure of 10 million barrels, supplying 20 percent of the domestic gasoline demand,” he said.
The phase three of the Abadan Oil Refinery is also projected to daily produce 25,000 barrels of catalytic cracker, 434 tons of liquefied gas, and 251 tons of gas extracted from the cracking operation, according to IRIB.
The cracking unit will be established using the universal oil product (UOP) technology.
Catalytic cracker is a chemical reactor used for converting oils with high boiling points into fuels with lower boiling points.
It is estimated that the development plan would cost 280 million euros to complete.
Previously, Abhaji had stated that a Chinese company will take up 35 percent share in the refinery development project.
“The Iranian Oil Ministry laid much emphasis on the development project of the Abadan refinery in a bid to increase the refinery’s capacity for producing different kinds of oil products,” he added.
The Abadan refinery is located in the southwestern city of Abadan near the Persian Gulf coast. It was completed in 1912 and was one of world's largest oil refineries when it was destroyed in 1980 by Iraq in the Iraq-Iran war.
The refinery had a capacity of 635,000 b/d in 1980 and formed a refinery complex with important petrochemical plants. Its capacity has been increased steadily since the war ended in 1988. Its capacity is now listed as 450,000 b/d crude oil.