Iran suspends plans to build refineries in 3 Asian countries

Iran has suspended plans to build four refineries in Syria, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company said on Sunday.

Although the plans for the construction operations have actually been suspended, the contracts have not been cancelled, the Mehr News Agency quoted NIORDC Managing Director Abbas Kazemi as saying.

In 2009, a joint Iran-Venezuela oil company was established to build a refinery in Syria with a capacity to refine 140,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Malaysia and Syria were also involved in the project, with Iran and Syria each taking a 26 percent stake, Venezuela a 33 percent stake, and Malaysia a 15 percent stake. 

In addition, in 2009 Iran and Malaysia signed a memorandum of understanding to construct the Kedah Refinery in Malaysia. The refinery had been projected to have a daily capacity of 250,000 barrels.

There were also plans to build another refinery in Malaysia, with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day.

And in February, Iran and Indonesia signed a preliminary agreement to build a refinery that would require an investment of about $3 billion. That refinery was to have the capacity to refine 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day.