The National Petrochemical Company has started exporting domestically-produced catalysts to Russian private petrochem companies, the managing director of NPC said.
“NPC has signed deals with Russian petrochem firms, including SIBUR, to provide them catalysts and licenses,” Morteza Shah-Mirzaei was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news portal.
SIBUR is one of the world’s fastest-growing petrochemical players and Russia’s leading polymer and rubber manufacturer.
Referring to local firms’ potentials, he noted that Smart Catalyst, based in Garmsar County, Semnan Province, has started the production of 1 ton of ethylbenzene dehydrogenation to styrene catalyst and 3 tons of ammonia synthesis catalyst for the first time in the country.
Ethylbenzene dehydrogenation to styrene catalyst is used in Pars and Tabriz petrochemical plants while ammonia synthesis catalyst is used by urea and ammonia producers such as Razi, Pardis, Khorasan, Hengam, Lordegan, Kermanshah and Masjed Soleiman petrochemical plants.
The ethylbenzene dehydrogenation to styrene catalyst helps save $20 million and the ammonia synthesis catalyst saves $50 million for the country, such that the import of two catalysts is no longer necessary.
“The use of indigenized technical knowhow, especially in the field of catalysts, reduces cost in the petrochemical industry by 30%,” he said, adding that selling the strategic commodity in international markets will help the firm increase its foreign revenues.
Of the 87 types of catalysts used in the petrochemical industry, 60 have been indigenized in collaboration with knowledge-based companies.
According to the official, the indigenization of all catalysts will help save about $1.15 billion annually, which would otherwise be spent on importing them.
“Although the price of catalysts in the petrochemical industry has a meager share in the whole project, if there is no catalyst, companies will face difficulty with their production and have to either close down or produce low-quality products,” he added.
Shah-Mirzaei noted that research activities for the indigenization of a number of major catalysts were carried out last year [March 2021-22] and they will be produced by the end of the current Iranian year [March 2023]).
“By the end of the current Iranian year [March 2023], eight more will be localized while the remaining 19 groups are expected to be developed by 2025 when Iran will no longer need to import catalysts,” he added.
Catalytic Reactions
Cracking, isomerization and reforming are the most important examples of catalytic reactions in petrochemical sector.
The NPC chief noted that unlike refinery catalysts, those used in the petrochemical industry are very diverse and the volume of demand is high.
Due to the multiplicity of catalysts used in petrochemical complexes, a significant portion is imported, but the US sanctions have made it difficult to purchase them from international markets, hence local firms should indigenize as many catalysts as possible.
A catalyst speeds up a chemical reaction but is not consumed by it. Most solid catalysts are metals or oxides, sulfides and halides of metallic elements and semi-metallic elements such as boron, aluminum and silicon.
“The domestically-produced catalysts are worth $123 million,” he said.
According to the official, Iranian companies annually use at least 23,000 tons of catalysts.
Catalyst consumption is rising and local companies are improving their R&D to not fall behind foreign competitors.
According to Shah-Mirzaei, the import of petrochemical products has witnessed a downtrend over the last two years and over 30 projects have been planned to maintain the downtrend in the coming years.
“Petrochemicals worth $2 billion were imported in 2020, which declined to $1.5 billion in 2021 and NPC’s imports are projected to be around $1 billion in 2022. With the help of 33 development projects, NPC’s import will reduce by 70%,” he added.
Value Chain
The official noted that with the implementation of these projects, NPC seeks to diversify the range of petrochemical products and help complete the value chain in the lucrative sector with the help of local catalysts.
Petrochemical plants across the country received 40 million tons of feedstock, including condensates, ethane, natural gas and naphtha, in the last fiscal year (ended March 20).
Development projects, which need an investment of $3.3 billion, will help produce 20 new commodities, including acrylic acid and propylene oxide.
Currently, 50 projects are underway across the country to increase petrochemical output and help develop the downstream sector.
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.
Shah-Mirzaei said the export of petrochemical products is projected to generate $18 billion in revenues for NPC by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2023).
“Close to 43 million tons of petrochemical commodities are expected to be produced in 67 petrochemical companies, of which 33 million tons will be exported,” he said.
With the inauguration of new complexes over the next four years, the number of petrochemical plants will reach 77, marking a rise of 15%.
