Mahabad Petrochemical Complex has had a physical progress of 96% and is now waiting for feedstock to commence production, managing director of the complex said.
National Petrochemical Company has pledged to provide ethylene feedstock by the end of August, Mohsen Majidi was quoted as saying by Shana. Mahabad petrochemical plant is projected to produce 300,000 tons of heavy polyethylene and linear and light polyethylene per year. It will meet not only the demands of the city of Mahabad, in West Azarbaijan Province, but also of four neighboring provinces.
The polyethylene unit, with a 97% physical progress, is capable of producing 120,000 tons of polyethylene per annum. Commercial production from the unit will commence once the feedstock is supplied by the end of September. The complex's butane-1 unit is capable of producing 30,000 tons of butane per annum, but production will be mainly utilized internally in the complex. Around 70-80% of the products are targeted for export.
To produce polyethylene, the refinery requires 300,000 tons of ethylene, the official said, expressing optimism that ethylene pressure will be increased upon completion of compressor stations along the West Ethylene Pipeline. The pipeline is reportedly the longest ethylene transfer pipeline in the world, with a final capacity to transfer 2.5 million tons of ethylene per annum. Once fully operational, it will supply feedstock for 11 petrochemical complexes, including Mahabad, Mahshahr, Andimeshk, Lorestan, Kermanshah, Hamedan, Kurdestan and Miandoab.
The pipeline can also be utilized to export petrochemicals to the western and northern neighbors, namely Iraq, Turkey, Georgia and Armenia. A special economic zone is planned to be created in Mahabad in the near future, through which Iranian products will be exported to the neighboring countries. Mahabad is the largest industrial center in West Azarbaijan Province. "Production from petrochemical complexes across the country has surpassed 15.6 million tons in the first four months of the current Iranian year (started March 21)," coordination and supervision director of the National Petrochemical Company, Ali-Mohammad Bosaqzadeh, said.
Production in the said period has had a 4% increase compared with the same period of last year.
