Iran will inaugurate Persian Gulf Star refinery (PGSR) that is meant to process the condensate from South Pars in Asaluyeh. The National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company’s (NIORDC) managing director, Abbas Kazemi, said that the facility is slated to start operations by March 2017, Shana reported.

The $1.74b project is considered Iran’s first gas condensate refinery, with a production capacity to produce 360,000b/d. Iran’s Deputy Oil minister Marzieh Shah-Daei said that PGSR will allow the country to reach self-sufficiency on benzene production, in addition to refining surplus of oil products to petrochemical materials, according to Azer News.

A member of the energy committee of the Iranian parliament, Ahmad Moradi, said that the refinery’s inauguration will add 35ml of gasoline with high octane content to  daily output, which will turn Iran into a major producer of refined products. He added that PGSR is expected to supply 14ml of gasoil once it is fully operational.

The project is owned by Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Investment Company with a 49% stake, Oil Industry Pension Fund 33.1%, and NIORDC 17.9%.