• Energy

    Asalouyeh Project to Double Petrochem Storage Capacity 

    Close to 360,000 cubic meters of petrochemical goods can be stored in Asalouyeh and the inauguration of the new phase will increase the current capacity to 774,000 cubic meters

    The completion of the second phase of a project in Asalouyeh in Bushehr Province will double the storage capacity of Iran’s largest petrochemical hub, managing director of Asalouyeh Petrochemical Green Tanks Company said.

    “The new phase includes 13 tanks, of which nine are ready to become operational,” Mohammad Reza Yazdani was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news portal.

    Close to 360,000 cubic meters of petrochemical goods can be stored in the region now and the inauguration of the new phase will increase the current capacity to 774,000 cubic meters, he added.

    Yazdani said the first phase of the plan was completed seven years ago and helped the region’s firms to add $44 million to their annual revenues and the new phase will double it.

    Close to $50 million have been invested in the venture over the last 12 months and it will raise storage capacity by 414,000 cubic meters.

    Giving a breakdown, he noted that three methanol storage tanks with a capacity of 360,000 cubic meters, two tanks with an ethylene glycol storage capacity of 48,000 cubic meters and one container for storing 6,000 cubic meters of diethylene glycol will go on stream in the near future.

     

     

    Urea, Ammonia Units

    According to Hassan Neshanzadeh, the deputy for planning and business development at the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company in Asalouyeh, three petrochemical projects will be completed soon in Bushehr Province. 

    During a visit to the projects, he said the construction of urea and ammonia units of Hengam Petrochemical Complex has registered 86% progress.

    “The pre-launch of the units is expected to happen in March.” 

    Using natural gas as its key feedstock, Hengam Petrochemical Complex will have an annual petrochemical capacity of 1.89 million tons. 

    With an annual output of 1.16 million tons, the urea unit accounts for a major share of the total annual production capacity of the complex (61.4%). The ammonia unit will have 38.6% of the share by producing 730,000 tons of ammonia.

    The complex has signed deals with Iranian catalyst providers for the supply of catalysts needed for the production of urea and ammonia.

    Eight catalysts are used for urea and ammonia production, all of which have been localized and the country no longer needs to import them.

    The main use of ammonia is in the production of fertilizers. It is also used in the production of ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, mono ammonium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, urea and other fertilizers.

    Urea is mainly used as fertilizer in the agriculture field and as raw material in other industries.

     

     

    Methanol Unit

    Neshanzadeh said the construction of the methanol unit at the Persian Gulf Apadana Petrochemical Complex has made 84% progress.

    The unit is expected to begin production next Iranian year [March 2023-24], he added.

    The project is under the license of the Swiss company Casale that offers a range of services for the production of ammonia, urea, melamine and methanol.

    With an annual production capacity of 1.65 million tons, the unit will cost $511 million. Its methanol will have a purity of 99.9% and the entire output will be for export.

    Referring to a development project at Sadaf Petrochemical Company, Neshanzadeh said the construction of an emulsion-styrene butadiene rubber production unit has registered 73% progress.

    The unit will help triple the production capacity of ESBR, which is the plant’s main product. It will have a capacity of 136,000 tons per year, half of which will be exported.

    Key equipment and machinery, including tanks, pipes and taps, as well as civil engineering services, have been provided by domestic manufacturers. Upon completion, 80% of catalysts will also be purchased from Iranian firms.

    Pars and Jam petrochemical plants will supply 45,000 tons of styrene, 83,000 tons of butadiene and 25,000 tons of aromatic oils as feedstock to the project.

    ESBR is largely used to manufacture tires and industrial rubber goods for the automotive industry. 

    According to Gholamreza Bahmannia, the head of the National Iranian Gas Company’s Department of Health, Safety and Environment, the firm is implementing three major projects to reduce air and water pollution in the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone in Asalouyeh.

    “The ongoing initiatives are mainly focused on cutting associated petroleum gas burned off in flares, curbing emissions of sulfur dioxide and expanding industrial wastewater treatment facilities in Asalouyeh,” he said. 

    Giving a breakdown, the official noted that operations are underway to collect 2 trillion cubic meters of APG from the 12 gas processing facilities in the South Pars region in the next five years. The scheme calls for curtailing emissions of sulfur dioxide by 490,000 tons in the same period.

    Asalouyeh is one of Iran's biggest hubs for export of oil, gas and petrochemical products. It also provides fuel bunkering services, facilities for storing oil products and refueling ships.

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