According to the National Petrochemical Company (NPC), Hossein Rafizadeh, the director of capital projects of the facility, told NIPNA, said the plant was implementing a project which would render it self-sufficient in production of two key feedstocks that would help Karoon operate at full production capacity.

The facility is now operating at 60% of its nameplate capacity.

The project, dubbed as Haico, is a strategic initiative pursued in the company in line with ensuring sustainable supply of carbon monoxide and hydrogen for the plant.

Currently, the items are being supplied from nearby utility suppliers for Karoon.

Rafizadeh said a licensing round for domestic and international developers had been held and a contractor had been chosen for implementing the project under an EPCC contract.

“This deal has been signed with a powerful domestic company which holds a prominent license.”

So far, the project has undergone its designing phase and the descriptive plan of the project has gained 50 percent progress, he said.

Karoon Petrochemical Plant is the first producer of isocyanates in the Middle East.