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Aerial view of the Abadan refinery | Credit: OIEC Group

The Abadan Refinery, located in Abadan, Khuzestan Province near the coast of the Persian Gulf, is one of the world’s oldest and historically most significant oil refineries.

History and Legacy

• After the discovery of crude oil in Masjed Soleiman in 1909, due to the proximity to the oil fields, being surrounded by Arvand and Bahmanshir rivers and accessibility to open water, 71 km from the Persian Gulf Abadan Island was chosen in order to build an oil refinery. 
• For this purpose, the construction of Abadan Refinery began in 1910 and it started operating in 1912 with the capacity of 2500 bpd as the first oil refinery in the Middle East.
• During the First World War, Abadan refinery was expanded to provide fuel for warships.
• The development of Abadan refinery accelerated in 1932 after cancelling ANGLO IRANIAN contract and signing the new oil contract.
• The refinery played a critical role in both WWI and WWII, supplying the Allies with major fuel resources. 
• The nationalization of Anglo-Iranian’s assets at Abadan in 1951 became a catalyst for the Abadan Crisis, which had a profound impact on global oil politics and led to the ouster of Iran’s Prime Minister Mosaddegh after international blockade and the 1953 coup.​
• The facility was largely destroyed after intensive bombing during the opening days of the Iran-Iraq War in September 1980.
• Postwar, the refinery was gradually rebuilt and modernized; by 2013 its capacity had reached 429,000 barrels/day out of a prewar peak near 635,000 barrels/day.

Recent Developments

• Expansion: In recent years, Chinese firm Sinopec and others have invested in further modernization and capacity upgrades, including a billion-dollar expansion program started in 2017.​
• Operational Role: Today, the Abadan complex remains a central facility in Iran’s refining sector, supplying fuel and petrochemical products to the domestic and export markets.

Technologies and Licensors

Key Process Units

• Crude Distillation Unit (ADU): Revamped, 210,000 bpd (newest train); remaining ADU capacity brings the site total to nearly 390,000 bpd.​
• Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU): 100,000 bpd (newest train), plus older existing units.​
• Hydrocracker (HCU): Start-up in 2024, capacity of 42,000 bpd—largest unit of its kind in Iran, used for hydrogen catalytic cracking of heavy ends into LPG, naphtha, jet fuel at Euro V specs.​
• Hydrotreating Units: Modern naphtha, diesel, kerosene, and gasoline hydrotreaters to meet Euro 5 standards.​
• Hydrogen Production Unit (HPU): New and existing hydrogen units to supply hydroprocessing and fuel quality upgrades.​
• LPG Distillation: New LPG distillation for product separation in phase 2 expansion.​
• Utility and ancillary units: Modernized steam, water, and air utilities.

Licensors

• Sinopec (China): Main EPC contractor and technology provider for the multi-phase expansion since 2017, including ADU/VDU, hydrocracker, hydrogen production, and supporting units.​ Sinopec Engineering Company is leading all construction and technological solutions for new capacity, supported by financing from China's Sinosure export credit agency.​
• Axens (France): Licensor for hydrotreating technologies and possible involvement in catalytic reforming.​
• NIORDC (Iran): Owner, specifying technology requirements and standards.

Summary Table

Product Slate After Upgrade

• Euro 5 quality: All gasoline, LPG, naphtha, jet fuel, kerosene, and diesel upgraded to Euro 5 standards via hydrotreaters and hydrocrackers.​
• Fuel Oil Yield: Reduced to 20% (from 40% pre-upgrade), boosting output of valuable transport fuels.​
• Output increases: +9 million liters/day (57,000 bpd) gasoline and +4 million liters/day (25,000 bpd) diesel expected once all units are operational.​

Strategic and Economic Impact

• Largest Refinery Share: Abadan contributes the biggest share among Iranian refineries to recent national capacity increases.​
• Over 100 Iranian companies involved in supply and manufacturing of equipment, reflecting significant domestic participation.

References

1. Wikipedia: Abadan Refinery​ (page version: Nov 7, 2024)
2. Shana Petro Energy Information Network. Abadan Oil Refinery’s Role in Iran History (May 3, 2016)
3. Wikipedia: Timeline of the Abadan Crisis​ (page version: June 22, 2025)
4. LumenLearning: Discovery of Oil in Middle East​
5. R.C. Elling. Academia: The World's Biggest Refinery and the Second World War: Khuzestan, Oil and Security​
6. R.C. Elling, R. Abdul Razak. Taylor & Francis: Oil, Labour and Empire: Abadan in WWII Occupied Iran (July 5, 2021)
7. Bimeh Iran Insurance Company. Sinopec Signs $1b Abadan Refinery Expansion Deal
8. J. Gnana. Middle East Business Intelligence. EXCLUSIVE: Iran to finalise refinery upgrade plans by end of 2017 (September 4, 2017)
9. Financial Tribune. Sinopec Signs $1b Iranian Abadan Refinery Expansion Deal (December 30, 2017)
10. H. Tunnicliffe. The Chemical Engineer. Sinopec to upgrade Iran's Abadan refinery (January 3, 2018)
11. Argus Media. Sinopec persists with Iran refinery upgrade (September 19, 2018)
12. E. Turner, T. Karrar. S&P Global. Refinery News Roundup: Oil products stocks fall on high Middle East demand (July 8, 2021)
13. F. Ahmed. Egypt Oil & Gas. Iran Develops Abadan Refinery to Enhance Refinery Products (April 5, 2022)
14. Total Energy Informatics. Abadan Refinery being Renovated - NIORDC (April 20, 2022)
15. Shana Petro Energy Information Network. 18 Processing Units at Abadan Refinery (January 31, 2023)
16. Energypress. Increasing the country's refining capacity to 2.4 million barrels (June 1, 2025)
17. Tehran Times. Iran’s refining capacity rises to 2.4m barrels a day (June 6, 2025)
18. Y. Al-Maleki. mees. Iran Refinery Adds Hydrocracker (June 28, 2024)
19. Sabz Engineering Co. Abadan Refinery Upgrade & Modernization Project