Iran is investing $46 billion in building new oil
refineries and upgrading its existing facilities, Deputy Oil Minister Alireza
Zeighami said in a report posted on the ministry's website.
The official said more than half of this investment, around $26 billion, is
solely for building new refineries by the end of the existing development plan
to 2014, the website shana.ir reported Sunday.
Of the $26 billion, about $8.5 billion has already been disbursed, the report
said.
Iran, the second-largest oil exporter in the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, relies heavily on imports for
petroleum products, especially gasoline due to inadequate refining capacity. It
imports nearly 40% of its annual gasoline needs.
The U.S. and European Union
are targeting the oil sector in sanctions they are imposing on Iran, on top of measures imposed by the United Nations
Security Council over the Islamic Republic's controversial nuclear program.
On Monday, EU foreign ministers were meeting in Brussels
to impose the tough sanctions on Iran's oil sector in a bid to coax Tehran back to nuclear negotiations.
To counter these sanctions, Iran is investing $2 billion in facilities specifically
being built to produce gasoline, the report said.
Zeighami said Iran proposes to invest nearly $18 billion in
maintaining and optimizing the production capacities of existing refineries. A
significant portion of this has already been invested.
Most of Iran's
existing refineries were built by U.S. companies before the 1979
Islamic revolution and refurbishment has been hampered by trade sanctions
enforced over the past 30 years.