Until eightyears ago, everyone was worried about incomplete petrochemical Projects. Buttoday, the same Projects are offering a variety of petrochemicals, whichlargely contribute to the Iranian economy. The accelerated development ofpetrochemical Projects under the 11th and the 12th administrations resulted inthe development of a large number of products. Iran raised its annualpetrochemical production capacity to 54 million tonnes last March, while thenumber of petrochemicals manufactured in Iran has reached 123. Moreimportantly, over the past five years, a total of 15 petrochemical Projectscame on-stream, which we briefly review here, Shana wrote.

**IlamPetrochemical Plant

 Phase I of Ilam Petrochemical Plant wasinaugurated in 2014 during a provincial tour by President Hassan Rouhani. Theproject came online with a capacity of 300,000 tonnes. The investment made inthe project stood at $442 million with its output valued at $388 million. TheIlam plant remains a major industrial project in Iran, equipped with ethylene,high-density polyethylene, feedstock desulfurization and all utilities units.Creation of job in the province, optimal use of refined gas products and theirconversion to petrochemicals of high value-added have been among objectives ofimplementation of this project.

**LorestanPetrochemical Plant

LorestanPetrochemical Plant was inaugurated by Iran's first vice-president in April2016 with an annual production capacity of 330,000 tonnes of low-density linearpolyethylene (LDLP) and high-density linear polyethylene (HDLP).

Located on a130-ha land, the Lorestan plant is fed by 234,000 tonnes a year of feedstocksupplied by the West Ethylene Pipeline. This project was inaugurated with aninitial capital of $300 million with the value of its products standing at $329million.

**UrmiaPetrochemical Plant Sulfuric Acid Unit

The Urmiapetrochemical plant was inaugurated by President Rouhani in May 2016. Thesulfuric acid unit of this petrochemical plant has an annual productioncapacity of 50,000 tonnes. The investment made in this project was $10 millionwith its production valued at $4 million. Due to allotment of human resourcesand utilities, it would be possible for the plant to boost production capacity.

 **MahabadPetchem Plant

MahabadPetchem Plant was officially inaugurated by President Rouhani in May 2016. Theidea behind this project was to develop petrochemical products in Iran, createjobs and develop petrochemical exports, make optimal use of gas resources inIran and generate value-added from national assets in partnership with Iran'sNational Petrochemical Company and private investment. The Mahabad plant isamong the 12 petrochemical Projects located along the West Ethylene Pipeline.The investment made in this project stands at $388 million with the value ofits output estimated at $329 million.

 **MarvdashtPetchem Plant

Shohada-yeMarvdasht Petrochemical Plant was inaugurated by Iran's first vice-president inJuly 2016 with an initial investment of $627 million. It was designed byPetrochemical Industries Design and Engineering Company (PIDEC) withtechnologies provided by Switzerland's Casale SA and Japan's Toyo. Iranianengineers handled detailed design, purchase engineering, implementation,pre-commissioning and commissioning.

The projectcreated 500 direct jobs and 4,000 to 5,000 indirect jobs. The value of itsproduct is estimated at $264 million.

 **TakhtJamshid SBR/PBR Unit

The TakhtJamshid SBR/PBR Unit was inaugurated by Iran's first vice-president in February2017. Takht Jamshid Petrochemical Company is located in Site 2 of the SpecialEconomic Petrochemical Zone. In Phase 1, the project will be supplying 45,000tonnes of SBR and PBR. The PBR unit, with a capacity of 35,000 tonnes a year,created 700 jobs throughout construction and 200 jobs during operation. Theproducts of this unit are used as raw material for rubber industry. ThePetrochemical Commercial Company has indigenized PBR production technology.TJPC incorporates an SBR production unit with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes ayear and a PBR production unit with an annual capacity of 18,000 tonnes. Thetechnologies used in this facility are Goodyear for SBR and Goodrich for PBR.

 **KarounPetchem Plant

Phase 2 ofKaroun Petchem Plant was inaugurated with the commissioning of the methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) unit with an annual capacity of 40,000 tonnes byIran's first vice president in February 2017. Phase 2 of Karoun Petchem Planthas five units. It has cost $407 million with its products valued at $116million.

 **KurdistanPetchem Plant

KurdistanPetchem Plant is one of 12 petrochemical Projects lying in the category ofresilient economy. It has had a big share in industrial development, creationof value-added and job creation in western and northwestern Iran. It wasinaugurated in April 2017 by President Rouhani. A total of $378 million wasinvested in this project. Construction of the petrochemical plant started in2005, but it faced a six-year halt before being resumed in 2011. The productsof the Kurdistan plant are used as feedstock for downstream units, and in theproduction of polyethylene films, polyethylene foams, wire and cable coatingand plastic materials.

The MEG unitof Morvarid Petchem Plant was inaugurated by President Rouhani in April 2017with a view to producing ethylene glycol in different grades. This unit wasdesigned and built to produce 554,000 tonnes a year of products. The mainfeedstock for this unit are 340,000 tonnes a year of ethylene supplied by theolefin unit of Morvarid Petrochemical Plant, and 368,000 tonnes a year ofoxygen to produce 554,000 tonnes of ethylene glycol a year. The initialinvestment made in this project stood at $300 million, while 90% of equipmentused in the MEG unit is domestically manufactured. The MEG unit's products aremonoethylene glycol (MEG), diethylene glycol (DEG) and triethylene glycol(TEG).

Phase 2 ofKavian Petchem Plant, known as the largest producer of ethylene in the MiddleEast, has an annual production capacity of over one million tonnes of ethylene.It was inaugurated in April 2017 with an initial investment of $313 million.Construction of the project started in 2006. Phase 1 became operational in2012. The products of this plant are valued at $929 million.

Thepolystyrene unit of the Entekhab Industrial Group which has production capacityof 250,000 tonnes a year of polystyrene was inaugurated in April 2017 byPresident Rouhani. A total of $200 million was invested in this project.Technical knowhow provided by Norway and Germany has been used in this projectwhose output is estimated to be valued at $326 million.

**TakhtJamshid Pars Petchem Plant's Polystyrene Unit

ThePolystyrene Unit of Takht Jamshid Pars Petchem Plant was inaugurated byPresident Rouhani in April 2017. The construction of Takht Jamshid Pars PetchemPlant began in early 2015 with the objective of producing 65,000 tonnes a yearof polystyrene products. The investment made in this project stands at $70million with the products valued at $69 million.

Polystyreneis a synthetic aromatic hydrocarbon polymer made from the monomer styrene.Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear,rigid, and rather brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It is arather poor barrier to oxygen and water vapor and has a relatively low meltingpoint. Polystyrene is one of the most widely used plastics, the scale of itsproduction being several million tonnes per year. Polystyrene can be naturallytransparent, but can be colored with colorants. Usages include protectivepackaging (such as packing peanuts and CD and DVD cases), containers (such as"clamshells"), lids, bottles, trays, tumblers, disposable cutlery andin the making of models.

Phase 3 ofPardis Petrochemical Plant was inaugurated by President Rouhani in Septemberwith an annual production capacity of 1.75 million tonnes of urea and ammonia.The project, which was started in 2011, has cost $582 million. Phase 3 isestimated to bring its urea production to 522,000 tonnes, which would accountfor 70% of the target for this project.

The methanolunit of Marjan Petrochemical Plant has a production capacity of 1.65 milliontonnes a year. The project was inaugurated by President Rouhani. Duringoperation, it will create 250 job opportunities. The investment made in thisproject stands at $914 million with the products valued at $577 million a year.

The DamavandPower Plant was built to supply electricity to 24 petrochemical plants locatedin Phase 2 of the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ). The initialinvestment made in this project stood at $366 million. This unit is currentlysupplying electricity to the Mehr, Morvarid, Kavian, Entekhab, Takht Jamshid,Marjan and Bushehr plants as well as compressed air separation unit amongothers. Equipped with two main boilers and an auxiliary boiler, the DamavandPower Plant is currently producing 780 tonnes an hour of vapor which is fedinto the Mehr, Morvarid, Kavian and Marjan petrochemical plants. In the future,plants under construction in Phase 2 will be supplied with vapor from thispower plant.

The Damavandproject was inaugurated by President Rouhani. 

 Courtesy of IranPetroleum

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