NPC has decided to buy 33% equity in Kermanshah ammonia/urea project. According to a resolution that has recently been approved by the NPC's Board of Directors, NPC will also assume the responsibility of the project's execution work during the construction period. NPC has set up an execution committee to steer the project's construction activities. Kermanshah Petrochemical Industries Co. (KPIC) is privately owned. The fertilizer project will be built in the western province of Kermanshah. 67% of the company's equity is owned by the private sector. NPC is the company's prime shareholder. KPIC has already issued tender bids for the project. NPC will pick up the project's engineering, procurement and license contractors.Once completed, Kermanshah Petrochemical Industries Co. will produce 396,000-t/y of ammonia and 660,000-t/y of urea.

Mechanical completion of the NPC 6th olefin project's high-density polyethylene (hdPE) plant is due by December 01. Mechanical completion rate currently stands at 90%. Hydro-test is already being conducted at the 140,000-t/y plant.The contract for the provision of license, basic engineering and technical assistance for the plant was awarded to Germany's Krupp UHDE. It is based on Hochest technology. Detailed engineering and supply contract were given to Iran's PIDEC as the main contractor and Spain's Intecsa UHDE as the sub-contractor.



Until the olefin plant becomes operational, the feed for the HDPE unit will be provided by other sources, including BIPC or will be imported.The olefin plant is expected to be completed by September 02. The plant's basic and detailed engineering are completed while underground and civil work is 90% completed. Procurement and erection & construction progress stand at 86% and 44% respectively. One of the olefin plant's furnaces is now in place while a second furnace is on the verge of installation.Olefins no. 6 overall physical progress is currently 70%.


The NPC subsidiary Petrochemical Industries Development Management Co (PIDMCO) has invited tenders from both local and international companies for a 300,000-t/y polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in Bandar Imam and an 80,000-t/y soda ash plant in the southern province of Shiraz. The deadline for submission of bids for the PVC facility is 16 December 01. The soda ash bid is for supply of technology and basic engineering. The facility will be built near the existing NPC production subsidiary Shiraz Petrochemical Complex.


NPC has extended the deadline for submission of bids for its Razi ammonia plant to 17 November 01. The project will be built at the Razi Petrochemical Complex (RPC) in south Iran near the northern coast of the Persian Gulf. It will have a capacity of 2050 tonne/day (676,500-t/y). RPC already has two ammonia plants each with a capacity of 330,000 tonne/year.