Mehdi Sarami, Deputy of Commerce at Esfahan Oil Refinery, On the occasion of National Export Day and 12 years of land and maritime export activity, outlined the company’s marketing and sales outlook on National Export Day. He said the refinery’s future plans for export development include expanding the export product mix, increasing export volumes, further diversifying export destinations, developing more sales terms, standardizing the sales structure to better align with global models, rebranding, and regaining stakeholders’ attention with a refreshed approach.
EORC’s marketing and sales director also reported significant export growth and expansion of target markets over the past 12 years.
Masoud Asadi noted that the company began exporting in 2014 and said: “Esfahan Refinery was the first refinery in the country to obtain authorization to export solvents from the National Iranian Refining & Distribution Company (NIRDC) and the Customs Export Office of Iran, and it started direct exports of specialty products.”
He added: “The company’s export activity began that year with sales of Solvent 402, and today, after 12 years, it has achieved a diverse product portfolio and wide regional markets.”
Asadi said the refinery’s first marine export took place in 2017, and in recent years—especially in 2024—exports have grown significantly. Over these years, 1,064,954 tonnes of various refinery products worth $432 million were exported via 3,100 customs declarations using 45,516 tankers and 130 vessels to international markets.
According to the marketing director, expanding the export product mix has been a major achievement: “The company enriched and made its export mix more competitive by adding sulfur in 2020, naphtha in 2021, solvents 502 and 503 and LPG in 2023, and finally normal butane in 2024.”
Masoud Asadi listed the export product mix as sulfur, solvents 402, 502 and 503, LPG, heavy naphtha, normal butane, and normal hexane, and noted: “By tonnage, LPG holds the largest share at 32%, followed by sulfur and Solvent 402 each at 28%. In dollar value, Solvent 402 has the largest share among exported products.”
He referred to the widening target markets: “Currently Esfahan Refinery’s products are exported to India, Mozambique, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, China, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, the UAE, Afghanistan, Armenia, and Azerbaijan Republic. Among these, Afghanistan and Pakistan import the largest shares of the refinery’s products.”
The marketing and sales director concluded by noting the use of international trade terms EXW, FCA, FOB, and CPT, and emphasized: “Relying on global standards, high product quality, and active presence in regional markets, Esfahan Refinery continues its path toward globalization with strength, persistence, and a development-oriented outlook.”
