RIPI Designing, Establishing Refinery In Southeast Asia

Tehran, Sept 10, IRNA - Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) in collaboration with a Southeast Asian country is designing and setting up an ultra-heavy oil refinery, said RIPI’s head. Hamidreza Katouzian made the statement in an exclusive interview with 'Iran Daily', published Wednesday, adding that the RIPI has favorable relations with certain foreign oil and gas companies. Without mentioning the name of the country, he said the institute is also engaged in its tar and oil production projects. Katouzian noted RIPI also holds oil and gas industry training courses in neighboring countries. He added the institute provides them with oil and gas laboratory services. “RIPI also provides African nations with techno-engineering services in onshore, offshore oil and gas projects.” On Iran’s international status in oil studies, he said, at present Iran ranks among top countries in this regard including the US and France and has made remarkable achievements. RIPI’s chief added successful research activities have been carried out in the past few years in domestic oil industries, in light of which the country is to attain a higher international status in the field. Katouzian stressed that the oil industry’s achievements in recent years have helped the country take a leap toward self-sufficiency in the sector. As an institute responsible for carrying out research activities and improving the country’s scientific and technological capabilities, RIPI is committed to fulfilling the objectives set by the policy of resistance economy, he added. “Research institutes are the intermediary links between modern technologies and science and industries and production sector which pave the way for the country to achieve self-sufficiency in related fields. RIPI is a serious rival for its foreign counterparts, particularly now that, due to the impositions of Western sanctions against Iran, foreign companies have some restrictions in cooperating with the country’s oil industry.” Domestic experts and researchers have proven to be even more efficient in improving different sectors of domestic oil industry compared with foreign ones, he said. “Since the Victory of Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran’s research sector has played the most important role in bolstering the country’s economy and development. This is while in the previous regime, domestic production sector could only assemble foreign products.”