The Petrochemical Special Economic Zone Organization and a Chinese company have signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a sodium formate production plant in Mahshahr, Khuzestan Province.
The Chinese company (whose name has not been revealed) will invest $4 million on the project that will be built on a 3,000-square-meter land at the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone (Petzone) in southwest Iran, the National Petrochemical Company’s news website Nipna reported.
The plant is expected to produce 30,000 tons of sodium formate per year upon completion.
Sodium formate is a colorless sodium salt of formic acid. It can be prepared by reacting formic acid with sodium hydroxide or carbonate.
The substance is used in industrial applications and the production of other chemicals. It has applications in leather tanning, printing processes, as a food additive, and as an enzyme stabilizer in detergents.
In recent years, sodium formate has been used more often across a variety of industries. Additionally, the fast expansion of food, beverage, dyeing, printing and oil industries has boosted the sodium formate market on a global scale.
The world sodium formate market was valued at $440.36 million in 2021 and is expected to reach $723.34 million by 2029, registering a compound annual growth rate of 6.40% during 2022-29.
Petzone Potentials
The infrastructure developed in the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone, including water, electricity, gas, feedstock and product pipelines, dedicated docks and communication facilities, have attracted investors.
Several foreign investors have visited the region in recent months and expressed interest in investment opportunities.
The Petrochemical Special Economic Zone Organization aims to complete the value chain of products, reduce imports, create wealth, prevent currency outflows, increase production and generate employment.
These efforts have created favorable conditions for both domestic and foreign investors and provided more employment opportunities for the youth and elites in the petrochemical industry.
Over $8 billion have been invested in the Petzone in recent years on developing the infrastructure, which will boost petrochemical production.
Stretching over 3,000 hectares, the Petzone is located along the northern coast of the Persian Gulf in Mahshahr. It was built to promote industrial development, especially in the upstream and downstream sectors, by attracting new technologies and creating jobs.
The zone is a key industrial region on the southern flank of the oil province that is dotted with petrochemical facilities. It has access to international waters through the Bandar Imam port and is connected to Turkey and Central Asian countries by railroad. Currently, 30,000 people are working directly in the Petzone.
About 22% of the total production capacity of the country's petrochemical industry (93 million tons) belong to complexes in the southwestern city.
In addition to 23 petrochemical complexes currently operating in Mahshahr, 10 more petrochemical projects are underway in the region.
Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Economic Zone plays a key role in boosting Iran’s status in the global arena and its collaboration with tech firms can further help meet domestic needs and sell petrochemical products in international markets.
The Petzone’s petrochemical units create value-added and reduce the sale of oil and gas on which the economy has been dependent for decades.
Petrochemical plants in the zone have already indigenized a range of catalysts, pumps, valves, turbines and centrifuges. Their collaboration with knowledge-based enterprises will boost the implementation of projects in the region.
Upon the launch of new projects, Iran’s petrochemical production capacity will reach 200 million tons per year in 10 years and the annual revenues from the petrochemical industry will reach $180 billion in the period.
