3rd Phase Of Pardis Petrochemical Plant On Stream In 2015

Tehran, Oct 28, IRNA -- Managing Director of Pardis petrochemical complex Bahman Zamani has said that construction of ammonia and urea units of the third phase of the complex has made progress by 70 percent. He said development of Phase 3 started three years ago expressing hope that it will start commercial production in the second half of next Iranian calendar year, beginning March 21 2015. “After launching Phase 3, production capacity of urea will reach 3.3 million tons annually from 2.15 million tons now,” Zamani told shana.ir. The complex takes its gas needs as feedstock from South Pars gas field. Nameplate production capacity of the first and second phases of the complex stands at 1.36 million tons of ammonia and 2.15 million tons of urea per year. Iran has exported more than 7.8 million tons of petrochemical products worth more than USD 5.1 billion in the six months ending September 22. Iran's National Petrochemical Company (NPC)'s production manager, Ali Mohammad Bosaqzadeh, said that the figure shows a seven-percent increase in terms of value compared to the corresponding figure of last year. Official figures show Iran’s petrochemical output stood at 22.8 million tons during the six-month period which coincides with the first half of Iran's calendar year. Iran produced 40 million tons of petrochemicals in the last calendar year (ended March 20), with USD 9 billion worth of its products being exported. The country, which is a major oil exporter, plans to increase its petrochemical exports to USD 12 billion this year. The Islamic Republic is determined to become the biggest petrochemical producer in the Middle East. The country has significantly expanded the range and volume of its petrochemical production over the past few years, and the NPC has become the second largest producer and exporter of petrochemicals in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia. Located in the heart of the Middle East, Iran holds some of the world’s largest deposits of oil and natural gas. /end