The profit of Bu Ali Sina Petrochemical Company in Mahshahr, Khuzestan Province, doubled in the last Iranian year (March 2022-23) compared to the previous year, the managing director of the company said.
“The company's profit gained from the sales of products in the local market increased from $72 million two years ago to $160 million last year. In addition, the profit earned by the export of these products also increased from $150 million to about $300 million,” Seyyed Mohammad Ahmadzadeh was also quoted as saying by the National Petrochemical Company’s news portal Nipna.
Referring to the company’s installed production capacity of 1.74 million tons per year, he said, “Last year, the company’s output was about 20% more than its nominal capacity, as it produced over 2.05 million tons of products, all of which were sold.”
“Last year, the company exported 950,000 tons of products and sold 1.1 million tons domestically. It has produced 480,000 tons of products in the first quarter of the current Iranian year [March 21-June 21],” Ahmadzadeh said.
New Paraxylene Unit
The construction of a new paraxylene unit at the company is complete and will be launched soon.
The old paraxylene unit was damaged in a fire accident in 2016 so Iranian experts and engineers were tasked with the design and construction of a new unit.
When the unit stopped operating, the reformate product of the complex was exported. With the launch of the new unit, it will be turned into paraxylene, which is a more valuable product with higher added value.
The paraxylene unit of the company has an annual production capacity of 400,000 tons of paraxylene, 180,000 tons of benzene and 36,000 tons of orthoxylene. It can increase 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, 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 feedstock for olefin units. A part of the light naphtha is also converted to LPG and C5 raffinate.
The rise in the plant’s benzene output has helped make the country needless of importing benzene and even promoted its export.
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 Petrochemical 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 lubricants, rubber, dyes, drugs and pesticides.
BSPC’s products are sold to Imam Khomeini Port, 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 major export products include benzene, reformate and diesel.
