Khuzestan Petrochemical Complex has brought onstream the first phase of an engineering polymers facility by producing Epidian 6 epoxy resin. The plant's trial production began during a visit by the Iranian petroleum minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh to the Khuzestan's site.
Located at Petrochemical Special Economic Zone in an area of 10 hectares, the facility is planned to produce 5,000-t/y of liquid epoxy resin and 5,000-t/y of solid epoxy resin in its first phase.
Polish companies ICSO and Polimex Cekop are the licensors for the solid and liquid epoxy resin plants. Namvaran of Iran and Noyvallesina of Italy are detailed engineering & procurement contractors for the project. Local contractors carry out the construction work.



In its second phase, Khuzestan will produce 25,000-t/y of polycarbonate (PC). The second phase is slated to be operational by the first quarter 2004. Salzgitter has provided the technology for the PC project. Local contractors have carried out the construction work.
The plant will consume 2.5mm3/y of natural gas, 29,000t/y of caustic soda, 1,500-t/y of HCL, 10,000-t/y of chlorine, 8,300-t/y of acetone, 26,100-t/y of phenol and 5,250-t/y of epichlorohydrin. They will be sourced domestically by NPC's subsidiaries except for phenol, acetone and epichlorohydrin, which will be imported. Natural gas will be supplied via the national grid.





Bouali Sina Petrochemical Co., an NPC subsidiary, has completed the first phase of the third aromatics project. The units which were brought onstream include storage tanks, common facilities, cooling towers, flares and naphtha prefractionation unit. They were completed 34 months after the detailed engineering and procurement contracts became effective. The third aromatics facility is located in Petrochemical Special Economic Zone.
Prior to the commissioning of the naphtha prefractionation plant, almost all of the common facilities units were brought onstream. They included cooling water make-up, demineralized water, potable water, fire-fighting water, waste water, plant air, instrument air, service water, boiler feed water, low and high pressure flare, high pressure steam, nitrogen, fuel gas, natural gas, cooling water and high-to-low pressure steam converter unit.
Bouali Sina has also mechanically completed its 34 storage tanks. Hydraulic testing has been carried out for all but three of the tanks.
The feed for the naphtha prefractionation unit includes light and heavy naphtha, which are supplied via a pipeline from Pazanan. Naphtha is fractionated at the prefractionation plant. The light ends are planned to feed the olefin plant at Amir Kabir Petrochemical Complex. Since the plant is not onstream, they are currently being fed to the olefin plant at Bandar Imam Petrochemical Complex. The heart cut is being piped provisionally to the aromatic plant of Bandar Imam Petrochemical Complex. The heart cut will be consumed internally, when Bouali Sina's second phase is commissioned. Heavy ends are exported. Since its commissioning on 7 October 2003, one shipment of 10,000 tonnes of heavy ends has been exported.





Construction work has started on an 11km specialized railway track at the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone (Petzone). The track is expected to be finished by June 2004. When completed, it will connect the Zone's northernmost part to its southernmost one. The track will also connect the plants and facilities at the zone to the national railway grid and beyond to the Central Asia, Caucasus and Turkey.
Currently, the first phase of the track construction, which includes, preparation of roadbed and laying the ballast is underway. Iranian engineering and construction companies are building the railway track.



The first phase of a port designed for loading/unloading of liquid products at the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone (Petzone) is on the verge of commissioning. The phase involves one of the three jetties that will be built at the Zone. The first jetty is expected to come onstream in two month's time when its machinery and equipment are fully installed. Civil work for this phase started in 2000. It has a loading/unloading capacity of 1.5m tonnes per year of liquid products and can berth vessels with deadweight of 45,000 tonnes. The port will consist of two other jetties, which will be built at a site flapped by Bandar Imam and Razi Petrochemical Complexes. The second jetty will have two berths, which can receive ships of 25,000 and 10,000 tonnes deadweight capacities.
The port's loading/unloading capacity is expected to reach 3m tonnes per year by 2005 when all the three jetties are fully-fledged. Invitation-to-bids are underway for these two berths.





Arya-Sasol Company has completed pile-driving operation to support the foundation of three of its storage tanks at the ethane-cracking unit. The unit will have a total of four tanks. Pile driving is continuing for the remaining tank in which ethylene will be stored.
Arya-Sasol is a 50:50 joint-venture agreement between NPC and Sasol Germany.
The facility is located at the Pars Special Economic/Energy Zone, Iran. It will produce 1m tonne/year of ethylene, 300,000 tonne/year of hdPE/mdPE and 300,000 tonne/year of ldPE. The cracker's design and engineering work has been completed while procurement and transportation of its equipment and machinery is 98% complete. Progress figure for erection and construction work is 41% while overall physical progress stands at 75%.





Insulation work has begun at the olefin plant of Marun Petrochemical Complex. The activity entails 50,000 m² of hot insulation and 21,000 m² of cold insulation. Marun is currently doing the hot insulation work after which cold insulation activities will start.
Meanwhile, work is making headway on the complex's cooling towers. The cooling tower at the olefin plant is 80% complete. The tower, consisting of 5 cells, has an overall capacity of 60,000 m³/h. The cooling towers at the ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol (EO/EG) and utility plants are 67% and 59% complete respectively.