President Ebrahim Raisi inaugurated Ibne Sina Petrochemical Company in Mahshahr, Khuzestan Province, via videoconference on Wednesday.
Costing $50 million, the facility was constructed in five years on 3 hectares in the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone in Imam Khomeini Port in southwest Iran, IRNA reported.
Using butane as feedstock, the plant will produce maleic anhydride, isobutane and normal butane.
An organic compound, maleic anhydride is a colorless or white solid with an acrid odor. It is used in the production of unsaturated polyester resin, coatings, pharmaceuticals, agricultural products, surfactants and plastics.
Globally, butane oxidation is the dominant production process used for maleic anhydride production. In 2018, it accounted for 45% of the installed maleic anhydride capacity.
Isobutane is a chemical compound used as a precursor molecule in the petrochemical industry, for example in the synthesis of isooctane.
Normal butane is a flammable, colorless, mostly nontoxic gas. It can be used for gasoline blending, as a fuel gas, fragrance extraction solvent, either alone or with propane, and as a feedstock for the manufacture of ethylene and butadiene, a key ingredient of synthetic rubber.
The plant’s location allows easy access to Imam Khomeini Port's international sea routes. It is the closest port in southern Iran to neighboring countries.
Through easy access inside the petrochemical zone to one of the main rail routes in Iran, the plant can also serve customers in Turkey and Central Asia through a railroad.
Global maleic anhydride capacity is expected to experience moderate growth, from 3.20 million tons per annum in 2018 to 3.43 million tons per year by 2023, registering a 7% growth.
The Middle East will lead with the largest capacity additions from the upcoming plants of maleic anhydride by 2023. For the upcoming plants, the region is expected to add 0.222 million tons per year.
With the additions, Iran aims to represent around 59% of global capacity growth by adding 0.13 million tons per year.
The UAE and Russia are top countries in terms of capacity additions in the global maleic anhydride industry. Together, the two add 0.09 million tons per year from the two upcoming projects.
India is the only other country with an expansion project, which aims to increase India’s maleic anhydride capacity by 0.002 million tons per year.
Gas Projects
The president also opened natural gas development projects worth $1.5 billion on the same day.
Giving a breakdown, the news agency noted that 14 towns, 1,459 villages and 4,114 industrial units across the country were linked to the national gas grid on Wednesday.
Plans to develop infrastructure to supply gas to 20 more towns and 1,239 villages in deprived regions in Sistan-Baluchestan, Fars, Kermanshah, Khuzestan and South Khorasan provinces have started.
According to Majid Chegeni, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company, currently 1,260 cities and more than 35,000 villages in different regions have access to piped gas.
Expanding the gas network to small towns and villages in remote areas of the southern region, laying gas pipelines and setting up compressor stations are NIGC’s priorities.
According to the NIGC data, there are more than 25 million natural gas subscribers in the country. In addition, 86 thermal power plants use gas, instead of liquid fuel, to generate electricity.
The national gas supply has greatly contributed to the development of infrastructure in rural areas.
The construction of transmission lines and distribution network has created a chain of direct and indirect employment, as it has been carried out by Iranian experts, engineers and workforce using equipment manufactured by domestic producers.
The expansion of the national gas grid has been made possible because of the rise in gas production.
Natural gas production capacity currently stands at 1 billion cubic meters per day, which is expected to increase by 10% and reach 1.1 bcm/d soon.
NIGC said it has invested over $17 billion in natural gas infrastructure since 2014. The major portion of the funds went to complete the South Pars Gas Field phases and the Iran Gas Trunkline to expedite gas delivery to remote rural areas, power plants and industries,
IGAT is a series of nine large diameter pipelines built to supply gas from refineries in the southern Khuzestan and Bushehr provinces.
Holding 34 trillion cubic meters of gas, Iran has the largest proven gas reserves in the world. The amount constitutes 18% of the world’s proven reserves, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy.
