Iran Launches Major Petrochemical Projects Amid Sanctions

Date: 25 December 2020 - 21:21

News ID: ۸۵۸۴۵

TEHRAN (Dispatches) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a video conference call has launched three large petrochemical plants with over $1 billion in new investment as the country pushes ahead with plans to diversify the oil and gas sector by manufacturing more valuable products amid illegal U.S. embargos on Iran.
Rouhani to inaugurated the three plants in the provinces of Ilam, Hamedan and West Azerbaijan, all in western Iran.
The projects had cost 280 trillion rials ($1.06 billion) in government and private investment.
The largest of the three was the olefin unit at Ilam Petrochemical Complex, a mega project where the annual output of various products, including ethylene, propylene and pyrolysis gasoline is expected to reach 750,000 metric tons.
Total investment spent on the olefin plant and its desulfurization facility has amounted to 866 million euros, said the IRNA report, adding that the project, known as the 13th Olefin in Iran, was a first in western Iran where the oil industry has a relatively low-key presence in underdeveloped regions like Ilam.
The Hegmataneh Petrochemicals, built just near the ancient city of Hamedan, also came on line on Thursday to become the first plant in the country manufacturing medical-grade plastics. Construction of the plant started nearly 17 years ago but it had stalled due to disputes between a local private investor, who owns nearly 57 percent of shares of the plant, and a government company with a 30-percent stake. The rest of shares in the factory are owned by an Italian company that has supplied the machinery.
A third new petrochemical project inaugurated by Rouhani on Thursday is located in the northwestern city of Urmia near the Turkish border. The plant is dedicated to production of potassium sulfate, a fertilizer widely used in industrial farming.

Petrochemical Revenues to Hit $25bln in 1 Year

Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said that the country is eying a jump in its revenues of petrochemical products up to $25bln by the end of the next Iranian year (March 20, 2022).
Addressing the opening ceremony petrochemical projects, Zangeneh said, "Over $11 billion of revenues earned in the first boom of the petrochemical industry seven years ago, and in the second jump, the income is expected to reach $25 billion at the end of the next Iranian calendar year”.
He added that the Ministry of Petroleum has faithfully attempted to continue petrochemical development projects.
Pursuing the policy of the resistance economy, Iran succeeded in achieving great progress in petrochemical industry, the minister noted.
Iran had earned $2 billion of the petrochemical industry in 1997 and the income reached $11 billion in 2013, Zangeneh said.
The revenue of petrochemical projects would increase to $25 billion by March 20, 2022, he noted, adding that $37 billion of income is on the horizon by 2025.
With the completion of 19 petrochemical projects set for the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2021), the plants are expected to produce 25 million tons of petrochemical products, the minister stated.

Iran 9th Largest Supplier of Potassium Sulfate

The CEO of the Iranian Investment Petrochemical Group Company (IIPGC) Rasoul Ashrafzadeh announced the improvement of Iran’s global ranking from the twelfth to the ninth in the field of potassium sulfate production by launching a new plant in Urmia, northeastern Iran.
Addressing a virtual ceremony to launch the potassium sulfate unit of Urmia Petrochemical Plant on Thursday, Ashrafzadeh said development of complementary industries and construction of downstream parks to complete the value chain, as well as preventing the import of certain items, production boom, especially in less developed areas, are some of the goals pursued by the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC).
IIPGC is a subsidiary of PGPIC.
He pointed out that IIPGC has four downstream parks under way with a production capacity of 3,500,000 tons per year, adding: "The three projects of Lordegan Petrochemical Plant, the second phase of Ilam Petrochemical Plant and the potassium sulfate unit of Urmia belonged to this company which have come on stream in the current calendar year (which began on March 21).”
He also said that the projects were developed with over 2.5 million tons of production capacity per year.
The official further added that the potassium sulfate unit of Urmia Petrochemical Plant was built with 585 billion Iranian rials of investment and is expected to generate 4,650 billion Iranian rials in revenue annually.
Ashrafzadeh noted that potassium sulfate products are valuable and are used in such industries as chemical fertilizers, laboratory materials and catalysts.
The unit has created 50 direct and 230 indirect jobs.