Italian Interest in Bushehr Petrochemical Project

A group of Italian investors has voiced interest in financing a development project in Jam Petrochemical Complex (JPC) in the southern Bushehr Province.

According to Shana, an Italian delegation visited the site of the complex and discussed financing a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit and polypropylene (PP) production plant.

JPC is one of the biggest Iranian producers and exporters of polymer.

Welcoming the group’s interest, Seyyed Hussein Mirafzali, the JPC managing director, said, “We intend to expand our activities and are interested in cooperation with Italian investors on building the new production units.”

PDH is an important process step in production of propylene—the second highly-demanded raw material in the world after ethylene used to produce a broad range of chemicals.

Polypropylene (PP), aka polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. The global market for polypropylene was about 55 million tons in 2013.

“The JPC is ready to provide investors with guarantees for their investment,” Mirafzali said.

Referring to Iran-Italy cooperation in Mobarakeh Steel Company, which was profitable for both sides, he expressed optimism that the collaboration would also come to fruition in the petrochemical industry.

Ernesto Paolillo, head of the Italian delegation, expressed satisfaction with his visit to the petrochemical complex, noting that Italy is ready for economic collaboration in Iran's fast-emerging petrochemical industry.

“We are ready to work with major European banks to fund petrochemical projects in Iran and maintain long-term ties.”

“Italy welcomes Iran’s proposal on cooperation in building PDH and PP units in JPC. I hope an agreement will be reached in the near future after further talks on the issue,” the senior official was quoted as saying by Shana.

Iran has reached agreements worth billions of dollars with foreign companies on investment in its petrochemical sector after signing a landmark agreement with the six world powers in July 2015 on curbing its nuclear program in exchange for some sanctions relief, according to Adel Salimnejad, head of the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company.

According to reports, Chinese investors have so far made the biggest financial contribution to the key energy sector.