The first phase of Bid Boland-2 Gas Refinery, in Khuzestan Province, is expected to go on stream in two years, managing director of Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company said on Wednesday.
“As per the schedule, the plan has so far made 30% progress,” Adel Nejadsalim was also quoted as saying by Shana.
Founded in 2010 by National Petrochemical Company, PGPIC is an Iranian holding company active in investment and management of petrochemical complexes and chemical companies.
With over 60 subsidiaries in the holding, PGPIC owns more than 11% of Iran's capital market.
Underscoring the significance of the project, Nejadsalim noted that the construction plan of Bid Boland-2 Gas Refinery is of high importance for PGPIC as it supplies feedstock to some other units. Bid Boland supplied more than 7.4 billion cubic meters of gas to the national gas network two years ago (ended March 20, 2015).
According to estimates, Iran's annual petrochemical production capacity could surpass 66 million tons by March 2016. The country produced more than 44 million tons of petrochemicals last year.
“The development plan of Bid Boland-2 was handed over to the company last year and if it becomes operational in 2018-19, the project would be complete in 30 months,” he said.
Nejadsalim stressed that the plan needs an investment of over $2.8 billion. PGPIC aims to support the downstream petrochemical sector, develop the upstream sector and expand the growth of supplementary industries.
It produced 18.5 million tons of petrochemicals two years ago, about 3 million tons more than the company’s output in the previous year. PGPIC is slated to reach 80% of its overall production capacity or nearly 22 million tons. However, Nejadsalim believes the shortage of feedstock is the main reason behind the difference in PGPIC's capacity and actual output.
The company’s exports are estimated at $8-9 billion per year. According to published reports, PGPIC has been the second biggest petrochemical exporter in the Middle East.
