MOSCOW (MRC) -- A new petrochemical complex for production of propylene will come on stream by March 2017 in Iran’s Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Economic Zone, the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) has announced, reports Fibre2fashion.
The construction for the Salman-e-Farsi petrochemical complex in Iran’s southwestern city of Mahshahr started in 2010, and it will have an annual capacity to produce 450,000 tons of propylene when the plant comes on stream by March 2017, according to the report.
Iran has capacity to produce about 60 million tons of petrochemicals per year, but only 68% of this capacity has been tapped so far, according Abbas Sheri-Moqaddam, Deputy Minister for Petrochemical Affairs.
Iran has the world’s largest natural gas reserves and the third-largest proven oil reserves. The country is now aiming to become the biggest petrochemical producer in the Middle East region, and it has significantly expanded the range and volume of its petrochemical production over the past few years.
Earlier this month, Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri said the Government of Iran considers investment in the petrochemical sector a top priority and hence it would fully support both local and foreign investment in the sector.
As MRC wrote before, Iran was set to officially inaugurate three important petrochemical industry projects in the country's Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Economic Zone. The projects include the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production line at Arvand Petrochemical Complex, the oxygen and nitrogen production line at Maroon Petrochemical Plant and the second liquids loading pier at Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Economic Zone.
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