The output of Bu Ali Sina Petrochemical Company in Mahshahr, Khuzestan Province, exceeded 1 million tons during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22), the company’s H1 report said.
The report shows that the higher output of the petrochemical plant was due to a rise in feedstock supply, the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana reported.
Also in the sales sector, the growing trend of the company continued in the first six months of the year and the sales volume of various products registered an increase of 43% compared with the same period of last year.
The company has launched a development plan to increase production and revenues. A paraxylene unit is ready for inauguration with the help of local specialists, which can help raise the profit of the complex by more than $50 million annually.
The products of the new unit will be used as feedstock in Shahid Tondgouyan Petrochemical Plant to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Paraxylene is an aromatic hydrocarbon used as feedstock to produce industrial chemicals. It is produced by catalytic reformation of petroleum naphtha and used in the production of polymers and terephthalic acid for polyesters such as PET.
A subsidiary of the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company, Bu Ali Sina Petrochemical Company stretches over 36 hectares on the northwestern flank of the Persian Gulf.
Founded in 1998, the company processes gas condensate as feedstock to produce various aromatic products a year, including heavy naphtha, light naphtha and benzene.
Sold in local and international markets, heavy naphtha is used in the production of gasoline, kerosene and industrial solvents.
Light naphtha, a hydrocarbon liquid, is supplied to domestic and foreign markets as the feed for olefin units. A part of the produced light naphtha is also converted to LPG and C5 raffinate.
The rise in the plant’s benzene output has helped make the country self-reliant in its production. Iran no longer needs to import benzene and can even export the valuable product now.
The chemical is used in the production of detergents and hygiene products, which are needed worldwide.
The sanctions-battered country had difficulty importing benzene in the past, but with Bu Ali Sina Company on fast track, detergent manufacturers can better meet their raw material needs and increase output.
Besides its use in the production of detergents, some industries use benzene to make chemicals used in the manufacture of plastics, resins, nylon and synthetic fibers. It is also used to make some types of lubricants, rubbers, dyes, drugs and pesticides.
BSPC’s products are sold to Bandar Imam Khomeini, Shahid Tondgouyan, Amir Kabir, Pars and Karoun petrochemical companies, and a portion is also exported to the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe.
Bu Ali Sina’s exports, including major products such as benzene, reformate and diesel, earned about $1 billion last year.
The company made a profit of about $250 million last year and the figure is expected to surpass $300 million this year.
