The construction of Golestan Petrochemical Plant in Golestan Province will resume in May with the investment of the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company.
The petrochemical complex, a majority of whose shareholders were the people, has faced many problems in the last few years, Naftema website reported.
Executive operations to build the plant were started 16 years ago, but the project made little progress due to financial constraints.
It is estimated that the project will be completed in three years. Upon its launch, the plant will provide 3,000 direct jobs mostly for the people of the region.
The plant is designed to produce 677,000 tons of ammonia and 1,073 tons of urea per year.
Urea and ammonia form the building block of many products, including plastic, textiles, pesticides, fertilizer and resin products.
Urea is widely used as a source of nitrogen for a group of plants, including wheat, barley, sunflower and sugarbeet.
Ammonia is used mainly in the production of fertilizers and chemicals like ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, mono ammonium phosphate, diammonium phosphate and urea.
As Golestan is an agricultural province in northern Iran, the petrochemical plant can meet the needs of the province.
Its surplus production can help increase exports and based on estimates, the gross domestic product of the province will increase by $66.6 million.
Iran is self-sufficient in urea production. In two years, urea production is expected to reach 15 million tons per annum from the current 7.5 million tons with the launch of several new plants.
The country plans to add 8.5 million tons per year to its ammonia output by 2026 with 20 new plants.
Six Projects
The Investment and Development Group of the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company has six projects underway to complete the value chain of the petrochemical industry, managing director of the company said.
“Projects aimed at preventing the sale of raw materials are expected to be completed by March 2024,” Rashid Qanei was also reported as saying by the National Petrochemical Company’s news website Nipna.
Upon the completion of the projects, 360,000 tons will be added to the company’s production capacity, earning nearly $500 million in revenues annually, he added.
The six projects are being carried out in three petrochemical companies in Urmia, Ilam and Lordegan cities.
Speaking about one of the projects in Urmia, West Azarbaijan Province, Qanei said it includes the construction of a poly-aluminum chloride (PAC) unit at the Urmia Petrochemical Company, which product will be used in water treatment and urban and industrial wastewater industry.
The PAC unit will have an annual capacity of 20,000 tons and is expected to be launched in less than a year.
Currently, Iran imports PAC from China, which is of low quality. The unit’s completion will make Iran self-sufficient in its production.
PAC is a water chemical made up of aluminum, oxygen, hydrogen and chlorine. It is a yellow, water soluble solid. The chemical has a variety of industrial uses but is primarily used in the processes of flocculation in water treatment industries.
It is one of the most efficient water treatment chemicals widely used in both potable water and wastewater treatment because it provides high coagulation efficiency and has the widest pH and temperature application ranges compared to other water treatment chemicals.
Urmia Petrochemical Company annually produces 190,000 tons of various chemical products, most of which are used inside the country and the surplus is exported to India, Turkey, Pakistan and Iraq.
It produces 4,000 tons per year of melamine crystal, 46,000 tons of ammonium sulfate, 50,000 tons of sulfuric acid, 40,000 tons of potassium and 50,000 tons of hydrochloric acid.
The company is the second largest producer of potassium sulfate in western Iran and the largest producer of melamine crystals in the country with a 25% market share.
Urmia Petrochemical Company is located 30 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital Urmia. The complex has been built on 220 hectares, of which 50 hectares are designated for the industrial division and 170 hectares for wastewater ponds and green space.
Urea, ammonia and sulfuric acid are feedstock delivered to the complex and water is supplied from two wells.
The Investment and Development Group is a public holding company that manages natural gas processing plants and chemical factories, as well as oil and polymer companies.
