KABUL: Deputy Iranian oil minister has voiced Iran’s readiness to construct joint oil refineries in the neighboring country of Afghanistan.
Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Abbas Kazemi said a new storage tank will soon come to stream in South Khorasan Province saying “Birjand Oil Tank Farm with a capacity of storing 100 thousand barrels of various oil products will start operation in the coming two months.”
He underscored that Iran is capable of supplying Afghanistan’s oil products demand for the next 30 years urging Afghan officials to enter into negotiations over pipeline construction.
Deputy oil minister, while expressing Iran’s readiness to meet the neighboring country’s demands, continued “construction of pipeline is not economically justifiable at the present time given the level of oil trade between the two states.” Kazemi recalled that Iran has reached the stable capacity of export 400 thousand barrels of oil products per day which represents a remarkable record in the present circumstances.
“Building pipelines for transferring oil products to Afghanistan will gain economic justification only if the volume of oil exports experiences a significant growth,” said NIORDC managing director.
Abbas Kazemi also pointed to the arrival of a large number of oil tankers in southern Iranian terminals for shipping oil products concluding “upon further negotiations, Iran is also willing to establish a joint oil refinery complex inside Afghanistan.”
