Home / Asia / Iran / Oil refineries / NIORDC Tabriz Refinery

NIORDC Tabriz Refinery

Refinery in Iran. Approximate location 38.05921, 46.16122.

RefineryIranCO₂ estimate (modelled)

NIORDC Tabriz Refinery is a refinery in Iran. Its listed capacity is 115,000 BBL per day. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery. It is operated by National Iranian Oil Refining And Distribution Co. By capacity it ranks #6 among 9 oil refineries in Iran. It emits about 1,658,081 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 386k passenger cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is 68% above the national median for this sector.

115,000BBL per day
1,658,081t CO₂e / yr (Climate TRACE)
#18CO₂ rank in Iran
14.42t CO₂ per capacity unit

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-3143947.

Data status

Known source data

FacilityNIORDC Tabriz Refinery Climate TRACE
CountryIran Climate TRACE
Coordinates38.05921, 46.16122 Climate TRACE
Sector / subsectoroil-and-gas-refining Climate TRACE
Reported capacity115,000 BBL per day Climate TRACE
Owner / operatorNational Iranian Oil Refining And Distribution Co Climate TRACE
Modelled CO₂e1,658,081 t/yr Climate TRACE

Calculated from the dataset

Iran rank#18 of 126 · top 14.3% calculated
Global oil-and-gas-refining rank#199 of 630 · top 31.6% calculated
Climate contextderived from coordinates calculated

Not available

Fuel typeNot available not in dataset
Thermal capacity (MW)Not available not in dataset

Source data, measured cross-checks and calculated values are kept separate. No confidence percentage is invented.

Similar facilities by modelled emissions

Same Climate TRACE subsector; closest non-placeholder modelled CO₂e values. Russia and Belarus excluded.

Operating power plants within 50 km

PowerAtlas operating assets, ordered by great-circle distance from published coordinates.

In context: how this facility compares

At 115,000 BBL per day, NIORDC Tabriz Refinery is below the median refinery in Iran (250,000 BBL per day). Subsector: oil-and-gas-refining. As refinery, it requires high process heat (typically 200–600°C) for its core industrial operations — heat that must be supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion, and losses through uninsulated vessels and piping represent wasted fuel. Removable modular insulation can cut those losses by 80–96%, surface-cooling equipment to ≤45°C, with payback often under 2 years. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 1,658,081 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's estimated annual CO₂e (Climate TRACE, modelled) in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

386kcars driven for a year
216khomes' annual energy use
28 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Carbon cost, Scope 1 & decarbonization potential

At its reported 1.7M t CO₂e/yr (Scope 1), NIORDC Tabriz Refinery carries no domestic carbon price; refinerys are not a CBAM-covered good, so there is no border-carbon liability. At the EU ETS reference price (€75/t) the emissions carry an indicative carbon value of €125M/yr. The fastest decarbonization lever is energy efficiency: eliminating heat loss on hot equipment (removable insulation, steam & waste-heat recovery) typically cuts 2–5% of fuel-related CO₂ — here ≈33k t–83k t/yr, worth €2.5M€6.2M, with payback up to 2 years. No domestic carbon price — but cement, steel, aluminium, fertilizer and hydrogen exported to the EU face CBAM at €75/t (rising to 100% by 2034).

1.7M t CO₂e / yrScope 1 emissions
€125M/yrindicative carbon value (not a CBAM liability)
33k t–83k t/yr ≈ €2.5M€6.2MDecarbonization potential

Carbon price: EU CBAM €75/t · EU ETS €79/t, July 2, 2026, refreshed live via Carbon Hub. CO₂: Climate TRACE. Efficiency range: US DOE / ASTM C680 (method). Indicative carbon value, not the cash bill — free allocation applies; not compliance advice. Estimate the saving for this site →

Capacity vs largest oil refineries in Iran

NIORDC Abadan Refinery: 388,000 BBL per day388kNIORDC Aba…NIORDC Isfahan Refinery: 375,000 BBL per day375kNIORDC Isf…NIORDC Bandar Abbas Refinery: 320,000 BBL per day320kNIORDC Ban…NIORDC Arak Refinery: 250,000 BBL per day250kNIORDC Ara…NIORDC Tehran Refinery: 250,000 BBL per day250kNIORDC Teh…NIORDC Tabriz Refinery: 115,000 BBL per day115kNIORDC Tab…NIORDC Lavan Refinery: 60,000 BBL per day60kNIORDC Lav…NIORDC Shiraz Refinery: 55,000 BBL per day55kNIORDC Shi…

Listed capacity (BBL per day), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by National Iranian Oil Refining And Distribution Co. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

NIORDC Tabriz Refinery sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate zone (Köppen BSk), at 38.1°N in the northern hemisphere.

~10°Ctypical annual mean
~23°Ctypical warm-season
Cold semi-arid steppe: four distinct seasons — cold winters and warm summers

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

The local climate sets how fast unprotected steel, protective coatings and the insulation on hot process equipment degrade at this site. It sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
39/100environmental-severity index
27.7°Cseasonal temperature swing
227 kmdistance to coast
LowCUI risk tier

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1400 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.08× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1330 W/m² of that. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #6 largest of 9 oil refineries in Iran by listed capacity (Climate TRACE).

Nearby industrial sites

Location

Coordinates 38.05921, 46.16122. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

For a refinery, the main modular-insulation targets are crude & vacuum distillation columns, fired heaters, heat exchangers, steam lines, valves & flanges. Typical hot-surface ranges used for screening: 150–550 °C.

Indicative recoverable energy

A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 52,000 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 10,000 t CO₂e/year of avoided emissions. Screening estimate scaled from installed process-heat projects and surface-temperature reduction data.

See Inzonex Modular Insulation → Run the calculator →

Screening calculation from facility class, capacity and open emissions/energy context. Engineering survey required before procurement.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Start with a thermal survey of valves, flanges, doors and bends. Removable modular insulation keeps maintenance access open while lowering exposed-surface temperature and wasted heat.

External climate finance your country can access

For energy-efficiency projects around process heat, likely external funding channels include:

Sources: country climate-finance facilities and public development-bank programmes.

Frequently asked questions

What type of facility is NIORDC Tabriz Refinery?

NIORDC Tabriz Refinery is a refinery in Iran. Refineries heat, fractionate and chemically transform crude oil into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks through energy-intensive distillation and cracking — extremely demanding on steam generation and heat recovery.

What capacity is listed for NIORDC Tabriz Refinery?

The open dataset lists 115,000 BBL per day of capacity for NIORDC Tabriz Refinery.

How much CO₂ does NIORDC Tabriz Refinery emit?

The page uses about 1,658,081 t CO₂e/year from the open dataset It ranks #18 among facilities in Iran by estimated CO₂.

Where is NIORDC Tabriz Refinery located?

NIORDC Tabriz Refinery is in Iran at approximately 38.05921, 46.16122.

Who operates NIORDC Tabriz Refinery?

The operator recorded in the open dataset is National Iranian Oil Refining And Distribution Co.

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