TEHRAN – Following a plan for expanding Iran’s petrochemical industry, National Petrochemical Company (NPC) is going to construct propylene storage tanks near Damghan city in north-central Semnan province, IRIB reported.

As reported, NPC Managing Director Behzad Mohammadi, accompanied by a group of officials from the province, visited the site considered for the project on Thursday.

During the visit, Mohammadi emphasized that access to communication routes such as railways is a necessity for the implementation of such projects.

“The construction of these storage facilities is a base for the development of the petrochemical industry's leading projects, and in this regard, all available capacities must be used to achieve a balanced development of the industry,” he said.

Earlier this month, Mohammadi had said that the capacity of the country’s propylene production has increased to 950,000 tons, however, the demand for the product in the country is more than this figure and plans are underway to increase the figure.

"With the PVM method, the methanol produced by the country’s methanol production units can be converted to propylene, and in this way, the production capacity of propylene can be increased," he added.

Iran has been facing a shortage of propylene for years. The country’s propylene production is set to rise to four percent of its total petrochemical production in the Iranian calendar year 1404 (March 2025-March 2026).

Based on NPC data, currently, there is a shortage of 175,000 tons of this product in the country, Shana has reported.

In the calendar year of 1404, the country’s propylene production is set to reach 1.95 million tons, however, Iran will be still facing an annual shortage of about 700,000 tons by then.

In order to tackle this projected shortage, the first step is to launch projects with methanol and propylene output.

Propylene is a colorless fuel gas with a naturally pungent smell. Although similar to propane, it has a double bond which gives it a combustion advantage i.e. it burns hotter. This fuel gas is extremely flammable and non-toxic. Propylene is obtained during the refining of gasoline

As the second-biggest source of revenue for Iran, the petrochemical industry is one of the most important pillars of the country’s resilient economy and one of the main suppliers of foreign currency especially the euro for the country.

The industry became more significant since the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on the country’s oil industry and since then, the government has been taking serious measures to expand the industry and move toward self-sufficiency.

EF/MA