TEHRAN – Head of Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Morteza Shahmirzaei has announced the opening of the country’s fifth research and technology center for petrochemical industries in Makran Coasts, southeastern Iran.

Speaking at a conference dubbed “Technology Transfer and Local Production of Refining, Petrochemical and Gas Catalysts” in Tehran on Wednesday, Shahmirzaei said: “One of the important issues pursued in the 13th government was to avoid selling raw materials and making maximum use of national resources.”

According to the official, such research and technology centers will focus on the domestic production of strategic items required by the country’s petrochemical industries like catalysts.

Emphasizing the key role of catalysts in the petrochemical industry, he said: “We tried to indigenize the knowledge for production of the catalysts needed by this industry in leaps over the past few years, and by defining the mission in this field, we started our work in several different axes and determined the approaches and direction of the movements.”

“Two years ago, we held the first catalyst exhibition in the petrochemical industry, and it caused the operators active in this sector to get to know each other in research institutes and universities, to exchange opinions in this field, and to realize the synergy of technical knowledge,” he added.

Also speaking at the conference, Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Jalil Salari said: “After successfully producing a great part of oil industry catalysts at home, the country now enjoys the potential to export the catalysts to meet the neighboring countries' needs.”

“Thirty years ago, we were in dire need of catalysts, and while under sanctions we used to refer to Indian companies to get help, but we moved forward step by step and managed to acquire the related know-how and finally used the domestically produced product successfully for the first time in isomerization unit of Arak Oil Refining Company,” he said.

The official noted that by acquiring the technical knowledge of producing catalysts, the country now can export the products to other countries as well as use them overseas in oil refineries including El Palito cracking refinery in Venezuela.

The deputy minister of petroleum for refining said that the country was currently reliant on domestically made catalysts noting that the country’s need for catalysts is estimated at 26 thousand tons even though the needs are on the rise mainly due to launching upgrading fuel oil qualification units at oil refineries, a process that can lead to further cooperation between Iranian knowledge-based companies and the foreign partners.

NIORDC managing director said: “We are hoping to pave the way for producing other catalysts at home through a competitive process, and at the same time to export domestically produced catalysts, specifically to the neighboring countries.”

A memorandum of understanding is on the verge of finalization that can pave the way for producing groups 5 and 6 of catalysts at home, Salari noted.

EF/MA