Iran breaks ground on €255m synthetic rubber project

Assaluyeh, Iran – Sadaf Petrochemicals has broken ground on an emulsion styrene butadiene rubber (ESBR) production plant to make five grades of rubber – some of them specifically for tires.

According to the head of Sadaf Petrochemicals Co., Ahmad Jazayeri, the €255-million project will be completed in 29 months and will be an 'environmentally-friendly' ESBR production unit with high standards in the region.

Speaking to Iran’s petrochemicals news agency Nipna on 14 Oct, Jazayeri said that Italy’s Versalis has licenced technology for the project with another Italian company, Maire Tecnimont SpA, providing front-end design and engineering (FEED).

However, a spokesperson from Versalis dismissed the report.

“Versalis, Italian Eni’s chemical company, states that the news regarding its direct present involvement in investment and technology transfer in Iran is not founded,” the spokesperson told ERJ.

Versalis said, however, that it had signed some license contracts with Iranian counterparts in the period before sanctions came into force.

“From that moment on, Versalis has been acting in full compliance with the applicable sanctions: as a consequence, the implementation of existing contracts was suspended,” the company statement added.

The company said it would consider any potential new activity in Iran only after sanctions are lifted.

Tecnimont has not responded to ERJ queries about the reports.

The Sadaf petrochemical project is fully financed by Iranian stakeholders and the construction will be carried out by the Iranian Petrochemical Industries Construction Co.

The plant will produce five grades of dry and oily rubber, two of which will be used in the tire industry and three in plastics, according to Jazayeri.

Jazayeri went to add that the plant will produce 136,000 tonnes of ESBR annually and will have the capability to change grades and adapt to downstream demands where necessary.

As for feedstock, Pars and Jam petrochemical plants will supply 26,000 tonnes of styrene; 84,000 tonnes of butadiene and 25,000 tonnes of aromatic oils to the project together.

Jazayeri said he expected China to be a major export market for Sadaf Petrochemicals, with a demand of 1.5 million tonnes a year.

The company expects to export around 50,000 tonnes of ESBR per year.

(Image source: Mehr News Agency)