Iran's top engineering and energy enterprise MAPNA Group is set to embark on a petrochemical project and implementation of power plants in the Parsian Special Economic Energy Zone in the southern Hormozgan Province in the Persian Gulf.
Based on a memorandum of understanding signed by MAPNA's director for oil and gas, Mojtaba Gharavi, and the zone's managing director, Hassan Shahrokhi, this week, the energy conglomerate will build a petrochemical complex in the zone, Shana reported.
According to Gharavi, MAPNA will start the construction of the gas to fuel and chemical production units of the petrochemical complex—aka GTX— as soon as it gets the substantive agreement from the National Petrochemical Company.
The plant is slated to earn over $2.4 billion via the export of propylene, methanol and other downstream products.
The GTX project is envisaged to create some 1,500 direct and 2,500 indirect jobs in the region.
As per the agreement, MAPNA will also supply the industries within and outside the zone with electricity by upgrading some power plants and also building new power stations.
During the first phase, the energy conglomerate is obliged to supply Parsian's industries with 50 MW of electricity within a year.
Combined-Cycle Plant
For a midterm run, MAPNA is tasked with turning a 1,000-MW single cycle power plant in Asalouyeh, near the zone, to a combined-cycle plant and laying the transmission lines to industries in the vicinity.
The project, set to be complete in three years, will add 500 MW to the plant's generation capacity.
The plant's electricity will be sent to the GTX complex and other petrochemical units in the zone.
And in the third phase, the enterprise will establish power stations with a combined capacity of up to 5,000 MW, depending on consumer demand. The project should be implemented within 10 years.
The development of the energy zone is vital for fulfilling Iran's desire to expand the petrochemical industry.
Petrochemicals accounted for 34.7% of Iran’s non-oil exports in the last fiscal year (ended March 2018). The industry has achieved continuous growth in the past five years, such that petrochemical complexes have increased from 43 plants to 53, installed capacity has reached 64.9 million tons per annum from 59.8 million tons.
NPC aims to establish new plants in the Parsian zone with a total petrochemical output capacity of 18 million tons a year. Parsian is also projected to produce 4 million tons of steel and 1.2 million tons of aluminum annually. Domestic and privately-owned companies have already pledged to spend up to $10 billion in the Parsian zone that is emerging as a hub for petrochemical, steel and aluminum industries.
The energy and industrial zone will receive natural gas feedstock from the giant South Pars Gas Field in the Persian Gulf.
