US Firm to Build Oil Filter Plant in Iran

Panid Engineering Co., a private domestic firm based in Tehran, has reportedly reached an agreement with US-based Pall Corporation to build a plant for manufacturing filters for the oil industry, the managing director said.

"Talks were held between Panid and a delegation from the American company on the sidelines of the 22nd International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition in Tehran, said Neda Mousavizadegan, whose company is a member of the Society of Iranian Petroleum Industries Equipment Manufacturers, Shana reported Wednesday.

"The two sides reached an agreement to establish a plant for manufacturing oil and gas filtration systems in Karaj (40 km west of Tehran). This is the first official collaboration between Iranian and American manufacturers in the petroleum sector (after the 1979 Islamic Revolution)" Mousavizadegan said.

A Panid spokesperson told the Financial Tribune by telephone on Wednesday that the company was founded over 30 years ago and currently works as the sales partner of Prognost Systems, a German supplier of diagnostic and monitoring equipment for industries.

According to Mousavizadegan, quoted by Press TV as well, Pall Corporation, a leading supplier of filtration technology, will provide Panid with licenses and knowhow to manufacture filters that will maximize contaminant removal, minimize maintenance downtime, and extend the life of equipment for dramatically improved business performance.

Highlighting the significance of acquiring the knowledge via cooperation with foreign firms, she stressed that the plant will not only speed up the indigenization process for industrial filters, but also pave the way for the export of key products to neighboring countries, such as Iraq, the Persian Gulf Arab littoral states and the Caucasus region.

Pointing to the import of low quality filters via sanctions-busters, Mousavizadegan added, "The production line will allow us to produce equipment that were imported at exorbitant prices when international sanctions were in place. Moreover, the oil industry will get filters that comply with international standards."

"Filtration systems are essential for improving the efficiency of refineries and ensuring sustainable production. A single piece of filtering equipment used to cost as much as $12,000 under the sanctions regime," she said, noting that the venture can dramatically reduce expenses to around $2000 per piece.

Pall Corporation is planning to hold training courses for domestic engineers on operating and overhauling filtration units in petroleum industries.

  Industrial Significance

Reliable filtration is important through the production, transportation and refining of hydrocarbons. Failure to remove contaminants from critical processes results in decreasing processing efficiency, increases operating costs and heightened risk of damaging sensitive equipment downstream.

Pall Corporation is a global leader in high-tech filtration, separation, and purification, operating across a broad spectrum of life sciences and industry. The company is active in aerospace, fuels, petrochemical, chemical, automotive and power generation sectors.

According to reports, the only American company that sealed a deal to operate in Iran’s oil industry after the revolution was ConocoPhillips which planned to develop an oil project.  

However, it later withdrew its plans after Bill Clinton's administration approved the Iran Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) which banned investments of above $20 million by US companies in Iran’s oil projects.

US companies are allowed to invest in Iran through waivers on the Iran Sanctions Act — the new title of the law since 2006. Nevertheless, it is yet to be confirmed that Pall Corporation has obtained a waiver from the Trump administration that has adopted an increasingly hostile stance against Tehran.