Italian contractor Maire Tecnimont has held a new round of talks with the National Petrochemical Company over construction of a mega petrochemical complex in Assalouyeh, Bushehr Province, Mehr news agency reported Sunday.
The weekend talks in Tehran were attended by senior NPC officials and Pierroberto Folgiero, chief executive officer of Maire Tecnimont. The planned petrochemical project in Assalouyeh includes a giant ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and styrene-butadiene rubber plant, noted the Mehr report, adding the petrochemical park will be one of the biggest in the Middle East region. An unnamed official from the NPC said the two sides have already reached preliminary agreement for construction of the plant.
In the meeting, Folgiero expressed his company's readiness to undertake oil, gas and petrochemical development projects in Iran once the sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program are lifted.
NPC and Tecnimont have agreed to form a working group that would hold initial technical-level talks to prepare the ground for implementation of the project in Assalouyeh. The group is also tasked with exploring other investment opportunities across Iran's petrochemical sector.
The styrene park will be built with investment from Iran's Jam Petrochemical Company. Tecnimont, according to the agreement, will undertake the engineering and logistical part of the project. The construction of the giant complex on the second phase of Pars Special Economic Energy Zone Organization is scheduled to be completed in the next two years.
The plant will annually produce 200,000 tons of ABS and other petrochemicals, including 36,000 tons of low-cis polybutadiene synthetic rubber and styrene butadiene as main feedstock for petrochemical complexes.
According to its website, Maire Tecnimont is an industrial leader in Engineering & Construction, Technology & Licensing, and Energy Business Development and Ventures. Listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, the group is among the top-ranking worldwide engineering contractors.
Foreign oil and gas giants have expressed interest in returning to Iran as sanctions targeting Tehran’s energy sector are widely hoped to be eased as a result of nuclear talks with six world powers aimed at striking a final accord.
Italy’s multinational oil and gas company Eni S.p.A has also announced that it will resume investment in Iran's oil industry upon possible removal of sanctions.
