Tabriz Oil Refinery was initially designed in 1974 and construction operations were concluded by February 1978. According to policies adopted later, this refinery began to operate as an independent legal entity and changed name to Tabriz Oil Refining Company as of 1998. The company is located in the southwest of Tabriz city, on a 150-ha plot of land at the elevation of 1,362 meters above sea level. The nominal capacity of Tabriz Oil Refining Co. initially 80,000 barrels per day. However, following the implementation of capacity expansion schemes, its refining capacity has now increased to 110,000 barrels per day. The required crude oil is supplied from Ahwaz Asmari oil fields in the southwest of Iran via the Rey Installations 16-inch pipeline. Tabriz oil refinery has 14 refining units and 10 off-site service facilities. In the spring of 2003, Tabriz Oil Refining Company became engaged in a project known as the Caspian Sea Republics Oil Swap (CROS), involving the processing of crude oil belonging to the countries of the Caspian Sea region. With the implementation of this project, in addition to increasing its production capacity, the refinery became capable of processing a variety of crude oils. The most important products of the refinery include: LPG, gasoline, kerosene, gas oil, vacuum bottom (VB), heavy and light fuel oil, as well as sulfur. The total production capacity of this refinery is more than 5 million tons a year. The products obtained are further tested at the central laboratory of the refinery to ensure that they meet the international standards as well as the specifications as defined by the National Iranian Oil Refining & Distribution Company (NIORDC), which after final approval are delivered to NIORDC for distribution across the country. In addition, Tabriz Oil Refining Company is currently the most important supplier of feedstock to Tabriz Petrochemical Company.