Urea production at Khorasan Petrochemical Company in North Khorasan Province has increased by 11,000 tons in the first five months of the current Iranian year (March 2021-22) compared with the same period of last year, managing director of the company said.
“While the company produced 89,000 tons of urea in the five-month period last year, the figure reached 100,000 tons this year,” Alireza Babazadeh was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana.
A subsidiary of Iran's National Petrochemical Company, KPC is the largest chemical producer in northeast Iran. Located in Bojnourd County, KPC has been producing urea, ammonia and melamine for over two decades.
Babazadeh noted that the sales of various products of the company during the period under review has increased by 2.6 times compared to the previous year.
“The company sold $54 million worth of chemicals between March 21 and Aug. 22, which is a record for the company while the figure was $21 million in the same period of last year,” he added.
The annual production of urea in Iran is about 5 million tons, around half of which is sold domestically and the surplus is exported. Output is planned to reach 14.7 million tons per annum by 2023 after the completion of several projects.
The KPC managing director said the company plans to increase annual gas feedstock by 500,000 cubic meters, which will boost urea production capacity to 1 million tons a year.
Urea is widely used in the agricultural sector as a fertilizer as well as animal feed additive.
Ammonia is used in making fertilizers and explosives, where methanol serves as a source for other chemicals.
Melamine is used in manufacturing utensils, plastic products, paper, paperboard and industrial coating, among other things.
KPC exports to several countries, including India, Indonesia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the UAE and Ukraine.
GTTP Unit
The construction of a mini gas-to-polypropylene (GTPP) unit is also on the company’s agenda. The unit will have a production capacity of 1.65 million tons of polypropylene per year.
Propylene is a colorless fuel gas with a naturally pungent smell. It is a key commodity in the petrochemical industry, which can be transformed into value added products like polypropylene and create jobs in the downstream petrochemical sector.
Polypropylene – the world's second-most widely produced synthetic plastic, after polyethylene – is used in a variety of applications, including packaging and labeling, textiles, carpets, stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive parts and polymer banknotes.
Currently, about 1 million tons of propylene are produced in Iran annually. However, domestic demand is much higher and plans are underway to increase production to 4.5 million tons with the launch of several projects across the country.
