TEHRAN, Aug. 23 (MNA) – Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said numerous projects have been defined in the southern province of Hormozgan to turn it into a refining hub within years.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a virtual ceremony to launch a major gas project in Kish Island on Monday, Owji said that the projects will need up to $25 billion of investment.

He also said that numerous upstream and downstream projects will be launched during Government Week which begins on Wednesday.

The official also underlined the inauguration of the gas transmission pipeline in Kish Island, adding an annual revenue of $400 million will be one of the achievements of the project besides protecting the region’s environment and generation of jobs.

He went on to add that memoranda of understanding and contracts for developing numerous upstream and downstream projects have so far been concluded under the Raisi administration while more contracts are underway.

The plan to transmit gas to power plants on Kish Island using the infrastructure of the phase one development plan of the Kish field, began in January 2018 under the responsibility of the employer, Pars Oil and Gas Company, on behalf of the National Iranian Oil Company, with the construction of gas transmission pipelines and related stations as well as a string of fiber optic cables with a total length of 127 kilometers.

ZZ/SHANA