Following a deal with the French oil and gas giant Total, Iran signed an agreement with another French company Axens on the purchase and manufacture of a wide range of petrochemical catalysts.
During the visit of Iran's high-ranking delegation, led by President Hassan Rouhani, to France, an unnamed Iranian private company signed an agreement with France's Axens in Paris, Mehr News Agency reported.
Based on the agreement, the two companies will cooperate to meet Iran's demand for catalysts and export the surplus output under a single brand name.
Axens is an international provider of advanced technologies, catalysts, adsorbents and technical assistance, consulting services to the refining, petrochemical, gas and alternative fuels industries. The main scope of Axens' business is focused on the conversion of oil, gas, biomass and coal to fuels and major petrochemical intermediates.
As the two countries turned the page for a new era of economic and diplomatic relations, Iran signed a deal to export 150,000 to 200,000 barrels of crude oil to Total to "supply the French and European refineries". Total will also study Iran's oil industry to assess potential projects.
Under restrictions created by the US-engineered sanctions, Iran had managed to indigenize the knowhow of producing many types of catalysts used in domestic petrochemical complexes and refineries such as Bandar Imam, Bu Ali Sina, Nouri and Karoon petrochemical complexes as well as Esfahan Oil Refining Company (Euro-4 gasoline production development plan).
Iran halted the import of some petrochemical catalysts from European companies, as it developed the technology to manufacture them in the past recent years.
Iranian companies consume 22,500 tons of various catalysts each year. Private companies produce 19,600 tons each year, covering most of the demand.
