Due to its unique features, the Iran’s MOKRAN coastal area in Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman are the perfect places for the development of the petrochemical industry and, given the wide availability of gas resources, are highly valuable for development. A study was launched to create petrochemical complexes on the coast of Mokran many years ago, bur due to the lack of infrastructures, an attempt was not made to execute these studies. In this path we witnessed the movement in this region and its industrial development for several years. Mohammad Reza Movvasaghinia, the CEO of Negin Mokran Petrochemical Development Co., (NMPDC) in an interview with our correspondent, described the latest activities for the development of the petrochemical industry in the region of Mokran. The full text of this discussion follows:
What is the latest state of construction of 18 petrochemical projects in the region and how much progress?
In the initial plan of Mokran Petrochemical Complex in Chabahar Free Zone, 18 petrochemical projects in three phases were scheduled to be developed for the upstream production of methanol, urea, ammonia, olefins and aromatic products from ethane, methane and gas condensates. With the changes that took place in the oil price and petrochemical products in the years 2014 and 2015, Negin Mokran Petrochemical Company aims to review the futures markets of petrochemicals from the views of international consultants for the redevelopment of the Mokcan Petrochemical Complex as the third pole of Iran’s Petrochemical industry. Therefore, we collaborated with several international consultants specializing in designing of industrial towns, especially petrochemical parks. As a result, the Mokran Petrochemical Complex was designed and built in several phases, and in the first phase, 5 advanced units of the GTX, one production unit of urea-ammonia, as well as a utility complex were scheduled. The centers are expected to meet the needs of these units.
In the next question, now GTX unit is the pioneer in terms of manufacturing speed, Badr East, a petrochemical complex whose first phase has an improvement of more than 25%. In June this year, the equipment of this complex was imported into Chabahar via Shahid Beheshti port and carried to Mokran Petrochemical Complex. Generally, GTX complexes are made in three stages: firstly, natural gas is converted into methanol, and this methanol enters the second stage, which is the product of the olefins, and in the third stage, low-level products of olefin will be produced.
What is the ultimate target for the annual production of the finalized petrochemicals and how many jobs will eventually be created?
The first phase of the Mokran Petrochemical Complex will produce 8.5 million tons of petrochemical products, which is expected to generate direct employment of 5 to 7 thousand people.
What is the total amount of domestic and foreign investment for project’s investment?
In the first phase, an investment of over $ 10 billion is estimated, which, in the current situation, will require extensive efforts to attract this amount of capital. We did not have any patterns like Mokran PC, and the closest model to this was the Asaluyeh and Mahshahr Petrochemical Hubs, which in the late 90s and 2000s were completely state-owned, when the economic situation in the country was better and the political and economic were different from the current state of the country.
Do foreign companies invest or make a partnership?
In recent years, one of the main goals of the investment board has been the Mokran Petrochemical Township. This has never been neglected in almost any foreign travel s of the President Rouhani. The attention of the President to Chabahar, and investment opportunities in Mokran, over the past few years, resulted in numerous visiting by high-ranking delegations from China, India, Spain, Germany, Afghanistan, Oman, Japan, France and …. They have visited the town, but what has been finalized has to date been contracts with Japanese, French and German companies in various sectors, sometimes as contractors or investor on utilities packages.
What is the current status of supply of these designs and resources?
With the changes made in the first phase of the Mokran Petrochemical Complex, the main source of projects is now methane of natural gas, which for this purpose and with the assistance of the Minister of Oil, 30 million cubic meters of methane gas per day was allocated to the Mokran Petrochemical Complex. You know that 907 Km of the seventh nationwide (peace) pipeline from Asalouyeh to Iranshahr launched in 2006 and reached to Iranshahr in 2010. By approval of the construction of the third post of Iran’s petrochemicals after Mahshahr and Asaluyeh in the Chabahar Free Trade Zone by the Government and Also, the prediction of the establishment of large projects such as steel and power plants in southern Sistan and Balouchestan, the need to construct a pipeline from Iranshahr to the south of the province was more and more evident.
For this reason, the Negin Mokran Petrochemical Company, the majour gas customer in Sistan and Baluchestan, negotiated with the Oil Ministry and the National Gas Company to ensure the timely supply of Mokran Petrochemical Complex, as well as the fuel supply of the utilities Complex. The construction of the gas pipeline from Iranshahr to the south of the province has taken place, and thus the construction of the 290 Km of Iranshahr-Chabahar gas pipeline, started in March 2016 at the presence of the President and according to the planned program, the Gas Burner Chabahar will ignite in the Fajr Decade of 2020. By now the project has exceeded 12% of physical progress.
So far, what steps have been taken to complete the value chain and produce final products?
One of the main reasons for redevelopment master-plan is that the main design of the Mokran Petrochemical Complex is the completion of the value chain; for example, in the initial design of the Mokran PC, with the changes made, five methanol complexes with a capacity of 1.6 million tons per year were predicted to complete the chain. The value was targeted to the third stage, with the production of the GTX complex being under construction, for the downstream products of the olefins.
Are there any incentives for investors?
One of the most important incentives for investing in the third nation’s huge petrochemical complex is three discounting plans for feed-stock rates that are important for investors,. First the 10% discount on feed rates is due for the construction of a complex in less developed and deprived areas, the next 10% discount on feed rates is due to the completion of the value chain up to the second stage, and the next discount is a further 10% discount to complete the value chain up to the third stage, so a discount of up to 30% on the feed rate will include petrochemical complexes located in this town, which is very important for the manufacturer and determines the competitive advantage of the inside and outside of the market; In addition to the 20-year tax exemption, due to the free zone, the 100% ownership of the projects by foreign investors and close to the targeted markets of the countries of China and India, and consequently a significant reduction in transportation costs, as well as access and connectivity to the national railways are other benefits of this petrochemical site in southeastern Iran.
In addition to the strategic and upstream support of the system, and at the top of their recommendation, the Supreme Leader’s support for the development of the Mokran coastlines is encouraging the acceleration of investment in this petrochemical hub as a national project.
