Shirafkan Ghorbani, Deputy of Operation at the North District of National Iranian Oil Pipelines and Telecommunication Company, referred to launch of oil swap with Caspian Sea littoral countries through Tehran and Tabriz refineries saying “until September 09, over 720 thousand barrels of crude oil had been transferred in two stages through a 32-inch pipeline.”
He noted that, following a seven-year hiatus, oil swap had kicked off in recent days with an average transfer rate of 10 thousand barrels per day; “upon removal of obstacles and preparation of oil swap companies, the volume is expected to rise to 40 thousand barrels by the end of the current year while the envisaged figure for 2018 stands at 200 thousand barrels.”
The official said existing pipelines and facilities enjoyed the capacity to displace more than 370,000 barrels per day though the volume could be upgraded to 500 thousand barrels of crude oil.
Given that majority of transmission lines and outlet centers are situated in remote and mountainous areas, oil swap requires hard work of the staff at these centers, underlined Ghorbani asserting “relaunch of oil swap in the North District has boosted the spirit of work, effort and vitality among staff at five centers on the oil pipeline route.”
At the end of his remarks, the official emphasized that all equipment and facilities of the region were ready for continuous and safe transportation of crude oil in the swap scheme.
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