Indigenized HDS Catalysts Used for 1st Time at Sabalan Petrochem Plant

Sabalan Petrochemical Company in Asalouyeh, southern Bushehr Province, has started using domestically-made hydrodesulphurization (HDS) catalysts for the first time in the country to support domestic manufactures, the managing director said.
“Due to the US sanctions, the company could not import this type of catalyst that is exclusively made by the Danish chemical company Haldor Topsoe,” Mohammad Zali was quoted as saying by the National Petrochemical Company news website Nipna.
The US announced fresh economic sanctions on Iran in August 2018 targeting key industrial sectors. In the May of that year the beleaguered president, Donald Trump, tore up the landmark 2015 nuclear deal Iran had signed with the six world powers and in November imposed a second round of sanctions against the key energy sector.
“It was possible for us to source similar catalysts from other foreign companies but we preferred to support domestic production. We asked three local companies to produce this catalyst,” Zali noted.