National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company

National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) 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.

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 250 e6l of oil products per day.
 * Daily export of around 60 e6l 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
As of 2010, NIORDC had 19 subsidiaries and affiliated companies, including 9 oil existing refineries. Between 2007 and 2012, oil refining capacity for crude oil and gas condensate would increase from 1600000 oilbbl/d to 3300000 oilbbl/d. By 2009, Iran had a total refining capacity of 1860000 oilbbl/d.

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 10 e9l capacity (2009). As of 2010, the storage capacity of oil products in the country was around 11.5 e9l.

Fuel imports
Major gasoline suppliers to Iran historically have been India, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, the Netherlands, France, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. The Financial Times reported that Vitol, Glencore, Trafigura and other (western) companies had since stopped supplying petrol to Iran because of international sanctions. In 2006, Vitol, a MNC based in Switzerland, supplied Iran with 60% of its total gasoline cargo imports.


 * Average daily gasoline consumption stood at 73 e6l in 2006 but fell to 64 e6l per day in 2007 concurrent with gasoline rationing plan and to 61 e6l after the full implementation of the first phase of the subsidy reforms plan. Gasoline production would reach 70 e6l 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 25 e6l of gasoline and 11 e6l 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 280000 oilbbl and 285000 oilbbl of gasoline a day and until recently had acquired the remaining 30 percent, which is about 115000 oilbbl/d to 120000 oilbbl/d, through big oil companies.
 * In 2014 Iran will import 10 - 11 e6l of gasoline per day overall, including 8 - 10 e6l of premium gasoline from India per day because some of the gasoline produced domestically does not meet the Euro-5 quality standards (and also because of the fuel smuggling/price differential with neighboring countries.)
 * In 2016, fuel imports decreased 50% to about 4 e6l per day on average thanks to falling oil prices (i.e. falling price differential with neighboring countries and consequent fall in the smuggling activity).



New facilities
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 (approximately 132 000 bpd).

Planned in 2011, Qeshm refinery (capable of processing heavy crude oil) will have an output capacity of 30,000 barrels a day of light oil products and will become operational by 2014.

Subsidiary companies
The NIORDC subsidiaries are as follows:


 * National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Co.
 * Management of Construction & Development of "CNG" Stations Co.
 * National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Co. (NIOEC)
 * Oil Pipeline and Telecommunication Co.
 * Oil Refining Co.