Addressing a virtual ceremony to inauguration Lordegan Petrochemical Plant in the presence of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh on Thursday, Jafar Rabiee said the country's petrochemical industry is proud to develop and export tens of millions of tons of petrochemical products during the difficult period of the coronavirus pandemic and the sanctions.

“This industry has not ceased to develop under the current difficult conditions and today we are witnessing the operation of a large unit in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province,” he said.

He pointed out that PGPIC, as the largest capital market company in the country, has about 40% of the production and export share of the petrochemical industry in Iran, and added: “The holding has defined 25 major petrochemical projects to ensure the future of the industry and materialize the second and third leaps of the sector with almost €14b of investment.”

The CEO of Persian Gulf Holding, stating that this year the company plans to operate four projects in the second leap of the petrochemical industry and Lordegan Petrochemical Plant is its first, continued: “Lordegan is a large urea and ammonia production unit with a production capacity of about 1.8 million tons, which can supply about 1.075 thousand tons of urea and 80,000 tons of surplus ammonia.”

According to Rabiee, after covering domestic demand, 80% of Lordegan Petrochemical Plant’s products will be exported, part of which is through swaps with Pardis Petrochemical Plant in Assaluyeh, which will facilitate the transportation of urea in the country.

The plant has been built with the aim of producing 1.075 million tons of urea and 677,000 tons of ammonia per year, of which about 600,000 tons is used to produce urea in the complex.

The facility is fed by natural gas from the national gas distribution network. It consumes 320 million cubic meters of natural gas as fuel and 429 million cubic meters of natural gas as feedstock annually.

Most of the products of this complex will be for export and its first chemical shipment will be exported next month.

Lordegan Petrochemical Plant was built with an investment of 754 million Euros and 11,230 billion Rials, and it would generate an annual revenue of roughly 240 million dollars. The plant is planned to reach full production tilt by the end of the current Iranian calendar year to March 20, 2021.

The commissioning of the plant was carried out completely by relying on domestic forces despite the US sanctions on the country.

Due to the 500 million euro financing of the unit by China, it was necessary for the company to purchase part of the equipment from this country, but despite this, most of the equipment was supplied from domestic manufacturers and over 60% of the equipment used in the plant was provided by Iranian suppliers.

Construction of the unit generated 2,800 direct and 450 indirect jobs in the western province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari. When fully operational, it will create 700 direct and 1,500 indirect jobs.

Lordegan Petrochemical Company was built on a 100-hectare land in the Felard County of ​​Lordegan City in the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, and Iranian Investment Petrochemical Group (Petrol) is the main stockholder of the company.