The 55 Iranian petrochemical companies use 1.1 million barrels of crude as feedstock daily and this will reach 2.6 million barrels over the next decade, managing director of the National Petrochemical Company said.
“NPC is developing 69 petrochemical projects across Iran, which have registered 50% progress on average and as they become operational, more feedstock, both crude oil and natural gas, will be needed,” ILNA also quoted Morteza Shah-Mirzaei as saying.
The companies also use 35 million tons of natural and liquefied gas as feedstock annually to produce 31 million tons of products, he added.
According to the official, pipe-laying work in Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Economic Zone (Petzone), Khuzestan Province, has been completed.
“The 100-km pipeline branches off from the 5th Iran Gas Trunkline [IGAT-5] that has increased gas supply as feedstock to petrochemical plants in Mahshahr by 100%,” he added.
The economic zone currently receives 15 million cubic meters of gas per day via a 30-inch pipeline.
IGAT is a series of nine large diameter pipelines built to supply gas from refineries in the south (Khuzestan and Bushehr provinces) across the country. IGAT-5 transfers sour gas from the South Pars Gas Field phases 6, 7 and 8 to Khuzestan.
Referring to Petzone as Iran’s petrochemical hub, he said that of the total annual petrochemical output (60 million tons), one-third is produced in the southern region.
Stretching over 3,000 hectares, Petzone is located on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf in Mahshahr. It was built to promote industrial development, especially in the upstream and downstream sectors, by attracting new technologies and creating jobs.
The zone has access to international waters through Bandar Imam Port and is connected to Turkey and the Central Asian countries by railroad.
With abundant hydrocarbon reserves and new private sector investments, Iran is working hard to maintain its global status in the key sector and broaden its scope.
According to the NPC chief, Iran’s revenues from the petrochemical industry will grow by 230% in the next six years.
