Jam Petrochem Complex Expanding Value Chain

In line with plans to complete the value chain in Jam Petrochemical Complex in the port city of Asalouyeh, Bushehr Province, the first development phase of an ABS/rubber production plant will go on stream by the end of the current fiscal year that ends next March, the JPC managing director said.

“Upon completion, the unit will produce 200,000 tons of Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) as well as 60,000 tons of rubber,” Hossein Mirafzali was quoted as saying by ILNA on Tuesday.

ABS is a hard, heat-resistant engineering plastic that is widely used in housing appliances, pipe fittings and automotive interior parts.

Stressing the priority of the plan, Mirafzali noted that the contractor, Pad Jam Polymer Development Co. (PJPC), is expected to fully launch the plant by next March. Pointing to JPC’s other initiatives, he noted, “Constructing new ethylene production units, increasing exports as well as producing petrochemicals with higher value-added top the JPC agenda.”

According to the official, with stable supply of gas feedstock to the complex, 2.5 million tons of petrochemicals will be sold to domestic and international markets by the yearend. Commenting on the number of active cracking furnaces for ethylene production, Mirafzali said, “Presently four furnaces are up and running. Nonetheless, if we get more feedstock, two more furnaces will become operational which means a notable increase in ethylene output.” Concerted efforts are being made to boost JPC’s high-density polyethylene (HDPE) output capacity. The polymer is used in the production of plastic bottles, corrosion-resistant piping, geomembranes and plastic lumber.

  Talks With Internationals

According to Ebrahim Yousefzadegan, production manager of Parsian Oil and Gas Development Co., negotiations are underway with an unnamed Japanese firm to transfer technology to produce ethylene glycol using advanced methods.

“Traditionally the commodity is produced from ethylene, but new technology will help us  produce ethylene glycol from natural gas, which will be much more cost-effective. This will allow us to use ethylene to produce petrochemicals with higher value-added,” he said.

Ali Mohammad Bosaqzadeh, a deputy director at the state-owned National Petrochemical Company, said that talks are being held with France’s Air Liquide global E&C Solutions (formerly Lurgy GmbH) on construction of a polypropylene production plant.

“To complete the value chain of the petrochemical industry, NPC has set a tight schedule, that entails cooperation between Air Liquide and Iran’s Petrochemical Research and Technology Company in building a polypropylene unit in Iran,” Bosaqzadeh noted.

Air Liquide is an engineering, construction and chemical process licensing company. Since 2007, it has been part of Air Liquide S. A., a multinational company which supplies industrial gases and services to industries. The company’s operations range from providing technology and services in petrochemical and refining sectors to renewable energies.

According to Bosaqzadeh, this would be the first time that the French multinational would embark on a joint venture with Iran for polypropylene production.