South Korea’s SK Engineering and Construction Co (SKEC) signed a heads of agreement on Saturday for a 1.6 billion euro upgrade of the Tabriz refinery in northwest Iran, the Shana news agency said.

South Korean National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, who is in Tehran to attend President Hassan Rouhani’s swearing-in, oversaw the signing between SKEC, Tabriz Oil Refining Company and National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Company (NIOEC).

“The purpose of the signing of the agreement, which is about to be signed into a contract in the near future, is to convert the furnace oil produced at the Tabriz refinery to products of higher value according to Euro 5 standard,” the report said.

Export-Import Bank of Korea will finance the project which includes upgrades to desulfurization equipment as well as gasoline, diesel and other facilities, it added.

The project will be carried out over a period of 48 months, bringing down the furnace oil capacity at the refinery to 2.0% from 20% now. Furnace oil is also known as fuel oil.

The Tabriz oil processing plant, built in 1976, is among the Iranian refineries in dire need of upgrade and modernization. In February, the country signed a $3 billion contract with China to upgrade the Abadan refinery in southwest Iran.

Tabriz operates with a capacity of 110,000 barrels per day, turning crude oil to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), gasoline and diesel fuel.

According to Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company Abbas Kazemi, Iran needs $14 billion of investment in total to fix and upgrade Tehran, Bandar Abbas, Isfahan, Tabriz and Abadan refineries.

Iranian refineries, he said in February, were operating at a capacity of 500,000 barrels per day, which would rise to 600,000 bpd in the current Persian year.

Iran expected to sign oil refining contracts worth $8.6 billion with a number of Japanese, Chinese and Korean companies, Kazemi said then, adding the biggest deal was reserved for Japan’s Marubeni, Chiyoda and Mitsui companies to upgrade Isfahan refinery at $3.6 billion.

A separate $2 billion contract is about to be signed with South Korea’s Daelim company to boost oil processing capacity at Isfahan refinery, said Kazemi, who is also Iran’s deputy petroleum minister.

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South Korea‘s intake of Iranian crude oil soared to a record high in March and its first-quarter crude imports from Iran nearly doubled on year, reflecting Tehran’s efforts to raise output after the lifting of sanctions early last year.

The increase in volumes since international sanctions against Tehran were lifted in January 2016 has made Iran the second-largest oil supplier to South Korea after Saudi Arabia, in the first quarter of 2017, reported Reuters quoting preliminary customs data on Saturday.

Iran was fifth-largest in the first quarter of 2016, behind Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar, according to data from Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC).

The official KNOC data ranked Iran as second-largest for the first two months of the year. KNOC figures for March and the quarter are due out in one week.

In March, the customs data showed South Korea imported 2.26 million tons of Iranian crude, or 534,368 barrels per day (bpd), up 118.8 percent from 1.03 million tons a year ago, reaching a record. That was up 38.3 percent from 1.63 million tons in February.

The world’s fifth-largest crude importer and one of Tehran’s biggest customers shipped in 5.68 million tons of Iranian crude in the first three months of 2017, or 463,234 bpd, up 92.4 percent from the 2.96 million tons imported during the same period a year ago.

Meanwhile, oil shipments from Saudi Arabia to South Kore, rose 10.9 percent to 3.52 million tons, or 831,413 bpd, in March on year. That was down 2.6 percent from 3.61 million tons a month ago as the world’s top oil exporter complies with the OPEC deal to cut supplies.

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some non-OPEC members reached an agreement to curb output last year by almost 1.8 mbd in the first half of 2017. Iran was exempted from the deal.

South Korea’s crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia fell 10 percent to 10.44 million tons in the first quarter of this year, or 850,614 bpd, from 11.61 million tons in the previous quarter, but that was 5.7 percent higher on year.

Overall, Asia’s fourth-largest economy brought in 12.68 million tons of crude oil in March this year, or nearly 3 mbd — up 10.1 percent from 11.52 million tons a year ago — according to the data.

For the first quarter of 2017, South Korea imported 36.94 million tons of crude, or 3.01 mbd, up 4.6 percent from 35.32 million tons a year earlier.

Final data for the country’s March crude oil imports will be released by state-run KNOC later this month.

Iran’s Oil Ministry said early this month that the country’s total exports of crude oil and condensates had exceeded three million barrels per day — a level not seen for at least the past six years.

Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said, “The pace of growth in Iran’s crude oil production and exports has amazed international observers who did not think Iran could raise its production by one million barrels per day within three to four months after the removal of sanctions.”

According to the ministry, almost a third of Iran’s oil exports, or over 700,000 bpd, is currently destined for Europe. The country exported around 600,000 bpd of oil to Europe during pre-sanctions years.

A top oil official said last December that Iran had started exports of condensate to Europe by sending a maiden cargo of one million barrels to certain EU clients.

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The first South Korean ship will be delivered to Iran in March 2018 based on a deal to buy 10 Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCV) from the Asian state, announced the managing director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).

Mohammad Saeedi added it is a 14,500 TEU container ship built by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. (HHI), Tasnim News Agency reported.

He said after receiving the first ship, the remaining ships will be handed over to the IRISL at monthly intervals.

The IRISL signed the deal with the HHI to buy 10 ships from the world’s largest shipbuilding company in December. Financed by South Korean banks, the contract was inked between representatives of the IRISL and the HHI on December 9, 2016.

Under the contract, valued at $650 million, Hyundai will build 14,500 TEU container ships and 50,000 DWT product tankers.

The contracts were parts of the IRISL’s plans to renovate its fleet at a total investment of $2.5 billion.

The company operates about 115 oceangoing vessels, but many of the ships are old and have been deemed unsafe to travel and cannot be insured.

The agreement marks Iran’s first deal with a foreign shipbuilder since the removal of anti-Tehran sanctions.

The sanctions were lifted after Tehran and the P5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France, and Germany) finalized a lasting nuclear deal on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

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South Korea’s imports of oil from Iran more than doubled in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier following the removal of international sanctions on the country in January, industry data showed on Sunday.

According to the data, imports of Iranian crude oil and condensates reached 78 million barrels during January-September compared with 33.63 million barrels in the same period a year earlier, Yonhap reported.

Iranian oil accounted for 9.7 percent of the country’s total oil imports during the cited period, the data showed.

Iran export  $526m oil to South Korea on September

In September alone, the country imported 12.15 million barrels, worth $526 million, up 106 percent and 72.3 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.

Iran had been a major exporter of crude to South Korea, but international sanctions on Tehran for its nuclear program had sharply reduced bilateral trade.

Iran, with a population of over 80 million, is a resource-rich nation, holding the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves and the largest gas reserves.

Last year, South Korea imported $2.20 billion worth of crude oil from Iran, down 51 percent from the previous year and far lower than $9.36 billion in 2011. Volume-wise, imports of crude and condensates came to 42.4 million barrels last year — down from 44.92 million barrels in 2014, 56.14 million barrels in 2012.

So far, South Korea has been importing condensates from Qatar and the US, but after the lifting of sanctions on Iran, local oil refiners sharply jacked up imports of the gassy ultra-light fossil fuel from Iran.

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Three foreign banks are opening up representative offices in Iran as the country seeks to boost investment after reaching an international sanctions deal last year, a senior official with the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said.

Oman’s Bank Muscat SAOG, Woori Bank of South Korea and India’s UCO Bank Ltd. are all in the process of establishing a presence in Tehran, CBI Vice Governor Peyman Qorbani said Tuesday in an interview. He declined to give further details, Bloomberg wrote.

Major European banks have kept their distance from Iran, despite its nuclear deal with world powers, for fear of running foul of remaining US sanctions.

Central Bank of Iran Governor Valiollah Seif said progress with foreign banks has been “slow,” IRNA reported in September.

Austrian and Iranian bankers met in Vienna in September to discuss the resumption of trade financing, people with knowledge of the plans said at the time.

Austria’s top three banks, Erste Group Bank AG, UniCredit Bank Austria AG and Raiffeisen Bank International AG would be among the participants, according to the people, who asked not to be identified.

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Group A leader Iran got the better of South Korea 1-nil at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on Tuesday evening as part of 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Asian Qualifiers.

Carlos Queiroz’s boys entertained second-placed South Korea today in group A of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Asian Qualifiers Final Round and pulled out a convincing 1-0 victory over East Asian rivals to solidify their hopes of securing a place at the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.

The Iranian outfit comprised Alireza Beiranvand, Seyed Jalal Hosseini, Morteza Pourali Ganji, Milad Mohammadi, Ramin Rezaeian, Saied Ezatollahi, Ehsan Hajsafi, Vahid Amiri, Ashkan Dejagah, Alireza Jahanbakhsh (81-Mahdi Taremi) and Sardar Azmun (85-Anderianik Teimuorian).

Iran’s single and decisive goal was scored by Sardar Azmun 25 minutes into the first half of the match in front of a crowd in excess of 70,000 at the Azadi Stadium to move on to 10 points from their opening four games.

Video: Iran vs South Korea, FIFA world cup qualifiers, 11 Oct. 2016- Tehran

The victory for Cheetahs marked their second consecutive 1-0 win in less than a week since they beat Uzbekistan with the same result last Thursday to secure the top position in Group A.

Now national football players of Iran are scheduled to take on Syria in their upcoming showdown to be held on the 15th October in the third-party venue of Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium located in Paroi, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia./ MNA

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Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization and CEO of South Korean Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) have agreed to establish Tehran and Seoul joint trade desk.

Mojtaba Khosrotaj and Kim Jaehong, president and CEO of KOTRA met in Seoul on Saturday to address possibilities of preparing a framework for joint cooperation of Iranian and South Korean firms, Mehr News Agency reported.

“A reciprocal mission for South Korean companies will also be promoting Iranian products in domestic markets and to incorporate Iranian industrial spare parts in production,” Khosrotaj said.

“Joint investment in molding industry in the production of household appliances has been an area well forgotten, and immediate policy decisions should address this gap.

“Policies for more sustainable economic relations are necessary; Korean companies with an interest in Iran should follow such policies,” he added. “A trade desk will be established to introduce the capacities to tradesmen of both sides and address their concerns and needs.”

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Fresh indications show a main barrier for trade between Iran and South Korea will be removed soon.

South Korea announced on Thursday that it will start a euro-based settlement system for trade with Iran next week.

The move follows the removal of sanctions against Iran in January and is expected to help the two countries further expand economic relations.

“The euro-based settlement system for South Korea-Iran trade will start on August 29,” South Korea’s Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho told reporters after a policy meeting held in Seoul. “The opening of the system will help further promote bilateral trade and investment,” Yonhap News Agency quoted him as saying.

Iran and South Korea have been using a won-based settlement system since September 2010 to bypass trade sanctions and allow the two sides to conduct trade.

Under the current system, two local banks — Woori Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea — have their own accounts at the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), and trade payments are made through the accounts.

The South Korean government has made efforts to set up a new settlement system as an alternative method that can possible expand trade and investment with the oil-rich country, Yonhap added.

The finance minister said KEB Hana Bank, Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank will handle the euro-based payment system, which uses the euro as a medium of trade, which is widely preferred by Iranian companies.

Industry data showed that the trade volume between Korea and Iran stood at $6.1 billion in 2015, down sharply from $17.4 billion in 2011 in what appears to have been a result of sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

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Deputy oil minister said Total S.A. Company has put forward a proposal to cooperate in development of Phase 11 of South Pars gas field.

Ali Kardor made the remarks underlining that two more foreign firms have also voiced readiness to launch partnership in the gas project.

Managing director of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) emphasized that Iran’s new oil and gas projects will be put out to international tenders asserting “despite receiving proposals from Total of France and two other companies, no contract has become finalized or inked for developing Phase 11 of South Pars joint gas field.”

Apparently, Eni of Italy and South Korea’s Hyundai are the two firms who, in addition to total S.A., have expressed willingness to cooperate over the only South Pars phase which has remained undeveloped.

On the other hand, the Foreign Minister of France Laurent Fabius, in his earlier visit to Tehran, appreciated the activities of Total in Iran’s oil industry saying “the French company has been active in Iranian oil projects for the past 20 years while new windows are expected to be opened for Total’s presence in developmental projects of Iranian oil fields.” Iran’s Oil Minister had also made similar remarks on the sidelines of his meeting with the French FM.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) Ali Akbar Shabanpour had stated earlier that talks were underway to hand over the drilling project of Phase 11 to two Iranian companies; “Phase 11 is as large as two ordinary phases and the drilling sections will be undertaken by Iranian firms,” he had underlined.

The development project of Phase 11 aims to transfer the produced gas to Phases 6, 8 and 12 in order to exploit their vacant refining capacity as well as to enhance access to required materials in the phase./MNA

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The technical tests and training of the national women’s ice hockey team, in full compliance with health protocols, began on Monday, September 13, under the supervision of the coach Azamsadat Sanaaei, with the presence of 30 athletes at the IRAN MALL ice track.

The girls in national ice hockey are preparing for the Asian Cup, which will be held in May 1401 in the Philippines.

Names of athletes:
Azam Sadat Sanaei, Elham Director Dehghan, Fatemeh Ismaili, Negar Khoram, Helia Sohani, Asal Heidari, Maral Rasekh, Negar Arjmand, Azin Qaruni, Diana Farzamnia, Saba Mazaheri, Faezeh Modbar, Marzieh Sadat Seyed Ghandi, Fatemeh Shahsvand, Fatemeh Shahsvand Pourhashemi, Zahra Rezaei, Diba Farzamnia, Zohreh Hassani, Shabnam Arab, Sougal Javadian, Sara Sattarian, Matin Sayad, Samaneh Nazeri, Zahra Ghasemi, Mahdieh Norouzi, Arezoo Izadi, Mahshid Mohammadi, Darsa Rahmani, Zahra Sheikhzadeh

Iranian women’s national online hockey team

The national women’s online hockey team was sent to the Asian Games in China for the first time in 2012 and won the third place.
After that, in 2014, they were sent to the Asian Championships in China for the second time, and they were able to return to the country by winning the fourth place in Asia. In 2016, for the first time, this team was sent to the Inline Hockey World Cup in Italy and won the 19th place.
In their last appearance in 2018, the South Korean Asian Championships were able to win the third place in Asia.

Iranmall Sports Complex

Iranmall Sports Complex has been created with the aim of creating physical and mental comfort, focusing on mental relaxation, developing motor skills and proper training of sports exercises, in a different environment and using the latest technology in the world. This collection includes various facilities for performing various sports and games, spending leisure time, enjoying spectacular games for the young generation and Iranian families, and holding domestic, regional and international sports events. In this regard, and to create a dynamic, safe and family environment for sports affairs, the founders of the Grand Bazaar of Iran have provided unique spaces in this complex, which is explained in the section on mobile sports sub-categories.

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