Iranian manufacturers of oil industry equipment are ready to help swiftly rebuild Bouali Petrochemical Complex that was hit by a massive blaze last week, the head of the Society of Iranian Petroleum Industries Equipment Manufacturers said.
"Manufacturers are ready to form a taskforce to offer the necessary equipment to the petrochemical complex under technical inspection," Reza Khayyamian was also quoted as saying by ISNA.
"In an official letter, SIPIEM has extended a helping hand to the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company, the parent company of Bouali Sina complex."
Khayyamian noted that domestic manufacturers can quickly replace all the damaged equipment at a reasonable prices and high quality, as the outflow of currency should be prevented.
Officials say all but the paraxylene tower unit of Bouali Sina that melted down in the incident will be back on stream within three to four weeks.
The fire at the petrochemical complex in the southern city of Bandar Mahshahr in Khuzestan Province broke out on Wednesday due to a technical problem that led to the leakage of paraxylene, a highly flammable fuel.
The blaze was initially contained on Thursday, but a second fire erupted at one of the complex's main storage units before being fully contained at around 2:00 a.m. local time on Saturday.
Unofficial estimates at the time the fire was still burning suggested the damages may exceed $200 million, but the state-owned Iran Insurance Company placed the damages at roughly €60 million ($66 million) in a report on Saturday.
The official called for tapping into domestic potential, as Iran is reeling from the worst incident in its oil industry.
"Domestic manufacturers can perform installation, maintenance and overhaul of equipment in all petrochemical processing units. In view of the present recession, it is unreasonable to turn to foreign sources to procure oil equipment," he said.
Khayyamian also said production and repair operations are the only area in Iran's oil industry still dominated by domestic players.
"The industry may face serious challenges in the near future, if more and more importers of foreign equipment come into play," he said.
