TEHRAN - The processing capacity of Iran’s largest oil processing center in the joint South Azadegan field has reached 320,000 barrels per day (bpd) following the operationalization of four processing trains.
The Central Treatment Export Plant (CTEP) is the country’s largest central processing unit and a strategic infrastructure of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in the West Karoun fields. It was designed and implemented to create a sustainable capacity for processing, transferring, and stabilizing crude oil from the South Azadegan field and other neighboring fields.
The project serves as the connecting link for the production and development phases of West Karoun, playing a key role in achieving sustainable and protected oil production from joint fields. CTEP is considered the main artery for processing and transferring West Karoun’s oil, and its significance extends beyond South Azadegan, laying the groundwork for increased production from other fields in the region.
With the completion and launch of the four oil trains at the South Azadegan CTEP, the nominal processing capacity of 320,000 bpd has now been realized by NIOC’s executive arm under the 14th administration, in collaboration with the project’s client and contractors.
The third oil train was launched in March 2025 and reached stable production in May 2025. The fourth train was launched in late December 2025 and achieved stable production shortly after. Subsequently, the completion phases of the first and second trains began in early 2026 and continued despite the conditions of the imposed war, with pre-commissioning and commissioning activities initiating the receipt of oil for processing.
Ultimately, following a four-day permitted production halt to integrate the control and safety systems of the first and second trains with the third and fourth ones, oil was introduced into the first two trains. On October 11, 2026, the target processing capacity of 320,000 bpd was successfully achieved at the center.
Hamid Reza Saghafi, CEO of Petropars Group, highlighted the facility’s role in the region’s development, stating: “This unit is one of the key infrastructures for the development of West Karoun. It plays a major role in the transfer, processing, and stabilization of the region’s oil, paving the way for increased production from other West Karoun fields.”
Commenting on the latest status of the project, Saghafi noted: “The overall progress of the project has surpassed 80 percent. In the gas sector, with the completion of the relevant units, it will be possible to send 200 million standard cubic feet of associated gas per day to the NGL 3200 plant.”
He added that achieving the 320,000-bpd processing capacity is the result of the tireless efforts of the project’s specialists and staff, alongside the close cooperation of the client and contractors.