Iranian Parliament has approved the generalities of a bill for increasing the capacity of the country’s oil and gas condensate refineries by domestic investment.

Axar.az reports citing IRNA.

The bill was approved by the MPs during an open session of the parliament, with 136 votes in favor, 32 votes against and three abstentions.

According to the spokesperson for the Parliament’s Energy Committee, Sakineh Almasi, the bill would increase the capacities of gas condensate and crude oil refineries using public investment.

“Construction of refineries is a clever response by Iran to oil sanctions, and helps boosting production and creates new job opportunities,” she said.

It is reported that by 2020, the global demand for oil products will increase by 1.1 percent, while the demand for polymers increases by 3.3 percent, so with this in mind, the creation of a hybrid system of refining and petrochemicals (petro-refinery) seems a necessity.