Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of a petrochemical project
in the southwestern city of Andimeshk, Khuzestan Province, Jafar Rabiei said
three major complexes would come on early next year, the Oil Ministry news
website Shana reported.
“Bid Boland Gas Refinery in Khuzestan, urea and ammonia units of
Lordegan Petrochemical Complex in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, and two
olefin plants at Ilam Petrochemical Complex, costing over $4 billion will be
launched next year,” he said.
“Completing unfinished projects is on the agenda of the PGPIC,”
Rabiei added. Gachsaran Petrochemical Company in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province
is another such venture expected to be commissioned by 2020.
Previously, the petrochemical industry focused on the upstream
sector, but the policy now is to develop downstream projects, the company boss
noted and referred to ethylene and urea as products that have a bigger profit
margin.
Construction of the Andimeshk Petrochemical Complex is one example
of the PGPIC shift on the downstream sector.
“It will help create more value-added in the petrochemical industry
as its products are more profitable than ethylene,” Rabiei said.
The complex will be fed by ethylene produced at South Pars Gas Field
and will annually produce 300,000 tons of ethylene oxide, glycol ether and
ethanolamine to be used as feedstock for hygiene items, detergents, and
additives in textile, cement, gas sweetening, refining and petrochemical
industries.
Over the past six years and thanks to the completion of several
South Pars Gas Field phases, there has been an abundance of ethane and ethylene
supply.
**Collecting APG
Rabiei added that the PGPIC had finalized a deal with the National
Iranian South Oil Company for collecting associated petroleum gas in oil-rich
regions.
“The petrochemical industry
has joined the National Iranian Oil Company for collecting flare gases which
are of high value.”
Collecting APG from oilfields has been a priority of the Oil Ministry
and according to plans almost 90% of the APG will be collected by 2022. In
three years flaring should come to a permanent end and will be used as
feedstock for the rapidly expanding petrochemical industry.
**Raising Output
Also addressing the groundbreaking event, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar
Zanganeh said the domestic petrochemical industry is growing rapidly and next
year for the first time there will be feedstock surpluses for petrochemical
projects.
Currently, 30 million tons of petrochemicals worth $20 billion dollars
is produced in Iran, which can cross 45 million tons within two years, provided
ongoing projects come online.
Zanganeh said there are plans to invest $6.5 billion in petroleum
projects with help from domestic resources.
He said a total of 100 million cubic meters of natural gas was added to
production capacity in the current calendar year that ends on March 20.
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