Denmark’s Haldor Topsoe Co. in Petrochem Talks

Haldor Topsoe, one of the world’s leading catalysis companies, is keen to expand its presence in Iran’s petrochemical industry and is in cooperation talks following the lifting of international sanctions against Tehran in January.

According to Mehr News Agency, a delegation of high-ranking Iranian officials including Marzieh Shahdaei, managing director of National Petrochemical Company, and Ahmad Mahdavi, secretary-general of the Association of Petrochemical Industry Corporations (APIC), held negotiations with senior Topsoe officials on financing, technology transfer and granting licenses for new petrochemical plans in Iran on the sidelines of the K 2016 plastics and rubber exhibition in the German city of Dusseldorf.

Founded in 1940, Haldor Topsoe specializes in production of heterogeneous catalysts and the design of process plants based on catalytic processes. Over 50% of the world’s ammonia used for fertilizers are said to be produced with the help of technology Haldor Topsoe technology and licenses.

The Danish company has expressed readiness to participate in Iranian petrochemical plans, namely urea, ammonia and methanol production projects.

According to reports, the Iranian mission has also held talks with the Germany-based ThyssenKrupp AG, a conglomerate of 670 global companies active in the automotive, elevators, escalators, material trading and industrial services.

ThyssenKrupp has expressed interest in a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) project in Iran.

  Past Developments

Topsoe was active in transferring technology to Iran’s petrochemical companies before the imposition of sanctions and signed a $545-million contract to build the Marjan Methanol Plant in the second phase of South Pars in Asalouyeh, Bushehr Province.

With the easing of sanctions that undermined Iran’s banking and energy sectors, Topsoe officials called for resuming collaboration with the petrochemical sector.

As one of the first signals, Per K. Bakkerud, a senior Haldor Topsoe official, told a petrochemical conference in Tehran last year that the Danish firm was “learning more and expanding contacts” in the Iranian petrochemical sector.

It has also signed a contract with Badr-e-Shargh Petrochemical Complex for licenses, engineering, proprietary equipment, materials and catalyst for a new methanol plant in the southern Iranian port city of Chabahar.

The complex is reportedly slated to go on stream in 2019-20.

This month, the European company officially reopened its Tehran office.

Denmark is eying opportunities for partnership and investment in Iran’s resurging energy sector.

Gholamreza Manouchehri, deputy head of the National Iranian Oil Company, said on Wednesday that negotiations are underway with the Maersk Group to assign the second phase of the South Pars Gas Field’s oil layer development project to the Danish conglomerate.

Maersk has activities in a variety of business sectors, primarily transportation and energy.