Iran starts construction of refinery in Pakistan’s South

Iran and Pakistan have agreed to build a refinery in Port Gvadar in the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. The facility is worth $4 billion and will process up to 400,000 barrels of oil daily, RIA Novosti reports.

Asim Hussein, an advisor of Pakistani prime minister, said that agreement to build the facility was reached at a meeting of Iranian Petroleum Minister Rostam Ghasemi and Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf yesterday. A memorandum of understanding was signed during a visit of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to Tehran on February 27.

Pakistani authorities signed a deal with Chinese Overseas Port Holdings Limited on Monday to let it control Port Gvadar. Construction of deep Port Gvadar 70km away from the Iranian border started in 2007. China financed 75% of its construction.