Two Petchem Projects Come Online
Mahshahr Special Economic Petrochemical Zone houses 20 petrochemical plants with a total rated capacity of 26.3 million tons a year. This zone produces a variety of petrochemicals to be supplied on both domestic and foreign markets. Recently, the second phase of Karoun Petrochemical Plant and the first phase of Takht-e Jamshid Petrochemical Plant became operational in the presence of First Vice-President Es'haq Jahangiri, Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh and CEO of National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Marzieh Shahdaei. These new projects helped complete the value chain of petrochemicals and contributed to an increase in the earnings from exports.
In early February, Jahangiri, Zangeneh and Shahdaei inaugurated the two petrochemical projects which have been operated by the private sector.
Iran, Most Secure for Investment
Addressing the event, Jahangiri said Iran was the most secure country in the region for investment, adding that this issue was of great significance to investors.
Noting that petrochemical industry is among industries that prevent the sale of raw materials while creating the highest value-added for the country, he said: "Development of petrochemical industry is like a train pulling dozens of other sectors behind itself."
Jahangiri referred to Iran's export of 19 million tons of petrochemicals in the Iranian year to March 2016 for more than $12 billion, saying: "Currently, many foreign companies are interested in investing in Iran's petrochemical industry. At the present juncture, Iran could be a center for development."
He put Iran's investment capacity at several hundred billion dollars and said: "The operation of 12 petrochemical projects in the current calendar year was among top priorities in the country. A number of these projects have become operational and the rest will be inaugurated soon."
Jahangiri, who also visited some petrochemical plants at Mahshahr zone, said: "The petrochemical industry is benefitting from domestic capacities in the country in the real sense of the word. At Takht-e Jamshid Petchem Plant, the technical savvy applied to the project is totally domestic while most of equipment used in the facility has been manufactured domestically."
$6bn Income in 4 Years
Minister Zangeneh said the calendar year 1395 to March 2017 was an exceptional year for petrochemical industry because many petrochemical projects came on-stream. He said that enhanced petrochemical production in the country reinforced Iran's position, generated value-added and positively affected people's life.
Some of projects that have become operational this calendar year are as follows: linear polyethylene with a capacity of 330,000 tons, "Urmia" sulfuric acid with a capacity of 50,000 tons, "Mahabad" linear polyethylene with a capacity of 330,000 tons and "Marvdasht's Shohada" urea/ammoniac project with a capacity of 1.8 million tons.
Meantime, Phase 2 of Kavian Petrochemical Zone with a capacity of 1.1 million tons, Entekhab polystyrene with a capacity of 250,000 tons and Kurdistan low-density polyethylene with a capacity of 300,000 tons are ready to go online. Phase 3 of Pardis Petrochemical Plant with a capacity of 1.7 million tons of ammonia and urea and Kaveh methanol project with a capacity of 2.3 million tons are also set to become operational soon. Kaveh is the largest methanol project in the world.
Zangeneh pointed to Takht-e Jamshid polystyrene project with a capacity of 70,000 tons and Phase 2 of Karoun Petchem Plant, saying: "These projects are clear indicators of completion of production chain. By converting feedstock received from different units into products of higher value-added, they empower the country and serve other industries."
He said projects, with a capacity of 9 million tons, are expected to become operational before next presidential elections. The minister said that these projects would cost $5.5 billion.
Due to its investments in 1997 and 1998, Iran's petrochemical industry experienced a big jump in production and the value of its products has increased sharply from $1 billion to $20 billion a year over recent years.
Zangeneh said the same jump must take place now, adding: "In order to realize this objective, the value of petrochemical products has increased by around $6 billion over the past four years."
Iran's access to rich hydrocarbon reserves has provided the country with a major