National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company
National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company is part of the Ministry of Petroleum of Iran. NIORDC was established on 8 March 1991 and undertook to perform all operations relating to refining and distribution of oil products.
Although NIORDC was formed in the 1990s, the company has actually inherited 90 years of Iran’s oil industries' experiences in the fields of refining, transfer and distribution of oil products, as well as, engineering and construction of installations of oil industries.
Responsibilities and duties (as of 2009)
- Refining crude oil and producing a variety of oil products.
- Transferring crude oil from production bases and “Khazar Terminal” to the refineries and also transferring oil products from refineries and import bases to distribution procurement depots and distribution centres.
- Performing all refining projects and schemes, transfer and storing.
- Production, transfer and distribution of of oil products per day.
- Daily export of around of oil products abroad via oil terminals.
- Providing different sectors – industry, agriculture and power plants – with fuel and feed regularly e.g. petrochemical complexes.
- Providing consuming fuel to residential sector, business sector in urban and the peasantry communities all over the country.
- Providing more than 7 million vehicles – heavy and light – in the transportation sector with their required daily fuel.
Installations and capabilities
| Refinery | Installed Capacity |
| Abadan | 350,000 |
| Isfahan | 280,000 |
| Bandar Abbas | 230,000 |
| Tehran | 220,000 |
| Arak | 170,000 |
| Arvand Oil Refinery | 120,000 |
| Tabriz | 100 |
| Kermanshah | 40 |
| Shiraz | 30 |
| Lavan Island | 63000 |
| Total: | . |
| Oil Products | KBPD | Percent |
| Gasoline | 283 | 17% |
| Gas oil | 511 | 32% |
| Kerosene | 136 | 8% |
| Fuel oil | 457 | 29% |
| LPG | 50 | 3% |
| Others | 184 | 11% |
Other facilities:
- Fourteen thousand kilometers of crude oil and oil product transfer pipelines.
- 150 pumping stations.
- Oil industry telecommunication network.
- Operational zones for pipelines and telecommunication.
- 35 operational zones for NIOPDC.
- 220 operational areas for NIOPDC.
- Storage tank installations with capacity. As of 2010, the storage capacity of oil products in the country was around, but it would reach by the end of the Fifth Five Year Development Plan.
Fuel imports
- Average daily gasoline consumption stood at in 2006 but fell to per day in 2007 concurrent with gasoline rationing plan and to after the full implementation of the first phase of the subsidy reforms plan. Gasoline production would reach per day in 2013.
- In 2008 Iran has imported nearly 40% of its market needs because of lack of refining capacity and contraband.
- In 2009, Iran spent paid $11 billion on imported fuel. In 2010, gasoline import declined to 30% of its market needs at of gasoline and of diesel fuel per day.
- In September 2010, Iran claimed that it has stopped importing gasoline according to the domestic capacity expansion plans. This statement was later denied by the government of Hassan Rouhani.
- As of July 2010, Iran produces between and of gasoline a day and until recently had acquired the remaining 30 percent, which is about to, through big oil companies.
- In 2014 Iran will import of gasoline per day overall, including of premium gasoline from India per day because some of the gasoline produced domestically does not meet the Euro-5 quality standards
- In 2016, fuel imports decreased 50% to about per day on average thanks to falling oil prices.
| 2008 | 2009 |
| BP | CNPC |
| ENOC | Glencore |
| Glencore | IPG |
| IPG | Litasco |
| MEP | Petronas |
| Reliance Industries | Reliance Industries |
| Shell | Shell |
| SPC | Total |
| Total | Trafigura |
| Trafigura | Vitol |
| Vitol | Zhenhua Oil |
New facilities
After completion of 7 new refineries and improvement to the existing refineries at a cost of $26 billion; along with the implementation of the subsidy reform plan to cut demand, it is possible that Iran would cease being a gasoline importer by 2010-2011 and will become a net exporter by 2013-2015.While the country remains dependent on small gasoline and diesel imports, net gasoline imports in 2013 averaged only 33 000 bpd. This compares to refined product imports of 182 000 bpd in 2009, of which two thirds was gasoline.
As of 2015, except for the Persian Gulf Star Refinery in Assalouyeh, all plans for the building of 13 new oil refineries have been abandoned "due to technical and financial issues" according to Iranian media.
| Refinery | Location | Refining capacity | Estimated costs | Estimated completion date |
| Khuzestan refinery | Arvand Free Zone, near Abadan | . The refinery will refine the heavy crude oil produced in Azadegan and Yadavaran oil fields. It will also produce of super gasoline complying with, of diesel oil, of jet fuel, of liquefied gas, and of sulfur. | 2.9 billion euros | 2012 |
| The Persian Gulf Star refinery | Assalouyeh | 360,000 of gas condensates per day and to produce gasoline, jet fuel, and other valuable products. | 2.5 billion euros | 2010 |
| Shahriar refinery | Tabriz | ; gasoline production: | 1.2 billion euros | 2012 |
| Anahita refinery | Kermanshah Province | 1.3 billion euros | 2012 | |
| Hormoz refinery | Bandar Abbas | of heavy and extra heavy crude oil | $4.3 billion | 2012 |
| Caspian refinery | Gorgan, Golestan Province | of crude oil; of gasoline, of gas oil from Caspian Sea countries with exports to Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan | $4 billion | 2013 |
| Pars refinery | Shiraz | 800 million euros | 2012 |
| Refinery | Location | Refining capacity | Estimated costs | Completion date |
| Yasouj refinery | Yasouj | . The refinery will produce petrol, gasoil, kerosene, furnace oil, liquefied gas, asphalt, and sulfur. | $2.2 billion | 2014 |
Planned in 2011, Qeshm refinery will have an output capacity of 30,000 barrels a day of light oil products and will become operational by 2014.
Policy
- Providing desirable fuel supplying services and supplying feed of industries and factories all over the country in due time.
- Reducing consumption rate through employing energy consumption management and raising export rate to make foreign currency.
- Reducing waste materials through improving efficiency in refining and distribution system.
- Reducing environment pollution to reach stable development.
- Raising human force productivity and promoting level of training.
- Increasing output of refinery facilities and transfer are distribution of oil products.
- Reducing cost of production, transfer and distribution of oil products.
Subsidiary companies
- National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Co.
- Management of Construction & Development of "CNG" Stations Co.
- National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Co.
- Oil Pipeline and Telecommunication Co.
- Oil Refining Co.