According to NPC, Behzad Mohammadi said the ethane extraction unit of Parsian Sepehr Refinery and two important projects for the production of catalysts for the petrochemical industry would be commissioned.

According to him, the ethane extraction project of Parsian Sepehr Refinery is one of the 17 petrochemical projects that were put on agenda of the industry last year but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CEO of the National Petrochemical Company, referring to the problems caused by the outbreak of coronavirus in the country, continued: "Despite intensification of the pandemic, which was an obstacle in the way of projects, until the end of last [calendar] year, the projects such as Miandoab, Kaveh, Lorestan Petrochemical catalyst production plant, Kimia Pars Middle East, Bushehr, Lordegan, potassium sulfate plant of Urmia, Hegmataneh, the second phase of Ilam Petrochemical plant, Bidboland Persian Gulf Gas Refinery and Kangan Petro-refinery were among the plans that came online throughout the year.

Mohammadi added the ethane extraction project of Parsian Sepehr Refinery is one of the remaining projects from last year which will come on stream on Thursday, April 15. The project will become operational by an order from the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani via videoconference.

The plant is fed by Parsian Refinery, he said, adding Tose’e Energy Tadbir Company has invested $1 billion in the project which is expected to generate $1,000 million annually. The project has been developed with 3.3 million tons per year of annual production capacity and generated 5,300 jobs during its installation and nearly 1,000 during its operation.

Regarding the two catalyst projects that are also scheduled to come online on Thursday, Mohammadi said the two projects are among the knowledge-based projects of the petrochemical industry.

He said the two catalytic projects include the catalysts needed for production of polypropylene and heavy polyethylene (CX), adding: "In catalytic projects, what is important is the development of Iranian technical knowhow, because for the first time in the country we see the production of such catalysts and it is a matter of pride that the technical savvy of catalyst production is being developed by the Petrochemical Research and Technology Company (PRTC), and this will make us needless to import these two types of catalysts.”

The CEO of the National Petrochemical Company stated that the value of catalyst consumption in the Iranian petrochemical industry is about $270 million per year, adding there are 40 types of catalysts used in the industry of which 19 have so far been localized and 9 others will be introduced by the end of the current calendar year, which began on March 20, 2022.

Mohammadi stated: "The remaining 12 types of catalysts are being studied will hopefully be added to the list of Iranian catalysts in the coming years.”

He also said that Sabalan methanol, Masjed Soleiman urea and Exir Halal projects are in the final stages of construction and will be added to the petrochemical complexes of the country in the coming weeks.