One ton of Iranian catalyst is being used in Russian petrochemical complexes that have also placed new orders to purchase more domestically-made catalysts, the managing director of the National Petrochemical Company said.
“This is the result of negotiations that have been held since March with Russian delegations for the export of Iranian catalyst to Russia,” Morteza Shahmirzaei was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news portal.
Earlier this year, NPC signed deals with Russian private petrochemical firms, including SIBUR, to provide them catalysts. SIBUR is one of the world’s fastest-growing petrochemical players and Russia’s leading polymer and rubber manufacturer.
Referring to the quality of Iranian catalysts, the NPC chief said, “Russian firms could not use Chinese catalysts as they did not work in the reactors of petrochemical complexes. However, Iranian catalysts have proved to be of high quality and competitive with the best in the world.”
ShamMirzaei pointed to the indigenization of catalysts as one of the strategies of the Oil Ministry and stressed that the localization of all catalysts of this industry has been planned.
Of the 87 types of catalysts used in the petrochemical industry, 60 have been indigenized in collaboration with knowledge-based companies.
The indigenization of all catalysts will help save about $1.15 billion annually, which would otherwise be spent on importing them.
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.
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.
Catalyst consumption is rising and local companies are improving their R&D to not fall behind foreign competitors. Iranian companies annually use at least 23,000 tons of catalysts.
The use of indigenized technical knowhow, especially in the field of catalysts, reduces cost in the petrochemical industry by 30%.
Petrarchan Output
Shahmirzaei stated that 70 petrochemical complexes with an annual production capacity of 90 million tons are operating in Iran.
About 26 million tons of products are exported and about 10 million tons are sold in the local markets. The rest is supplied to refineries and petrochemicals as feedstock, he added.
The official noted that around 30% of Iran's non-oil exports are related to the petrochemical sector that handles 28% of the region's petrochem exports.
Last year, NPC earned about $15 billion from the petrochemical sector.
“Twenty projects have been planned to increase the output of petrochemical products,” he said.
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.
Development projects, which need an investment of $3.3 billion, will help produce 20 new commodities, including acrylic acid and propylene oxide.
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.
With the inauguration of new complexes over the next four years, the number of petrochemical plants will reach 77, marking a rise of 15%.
