Page 53 - IRANRptJun20

9.2 ​Major corporate news 9.2.1​ Oil & gas corporate news
Iran’s Tabriz Petrochemical Company posts 15% production gain
Plans afoot to ‘turn Iran’s Urmia into petroleum product export hub targeting Turkey, other regional markets’
Iran’s Petropars and NIDC sign gas and oil memorandum on cooperation
Iran’s Tabriz Petrochemical Company (TPC) has recorded a 15% y/y gain in production in the Persian calendar month of Ordibehesht (April 20-May 20), NIPNA reported on May 26.
During the month, the plant reportedly produced 72,049 tonnes of petrochemical products, up from 67,508 tonnes in the previous Persian month. The company receives naphtha feedstock from the state-owned Tabriz refinery that serves the northwest of Iran and exports products to neighbouring countries including Turkey and Armenia. TPC products include polyethylene, polystyrene and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS).
The company noted the production increase was attained despite disruption in Iran caused by the country’s severe coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
The CEO of the National Iranian Petroleum Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) has said plans are afoot to turn Iran’s northwestern city of Urmia into a petroleum products export hub that would particularly target the Turkish market, ILNA reported on May 27.
The new storage facility, named Hajj Qassem Soleimani Storage after the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) commander assassinated in a US drone strike in January, was being positioned for exports that would also be aimed at other regional countries including Armenia, Keramat Viskarami was also cited as saying. Despite the international oil price collapse Iran still saw more profit in shipping petroleum products to these markets rather than selling locally, he said.
Viskarami noted that the Urmia region has a useful strategic position commercially speaking, due to its proximity to Turkey, Armenia, Iraq and Azerbaijan.
The performance of NIOPDC was "satisfactory in the development of the Urmia facility" despite a slowing down in the project development over recent months, he said.
Ahmad Mojarad, director of the Urmia National Petroleum Products Distribution Company, said: "Receiving, storing and distributing petroleum products to consumers is achieved in the minimum standard time and is meter-measured."
Iran’s Petropars Group and National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) have signed a memorandum of understanding on developing oil and gas projects in the country, official energy news agency SHANA reported on May 5.
Since the US resumed placing unilateral sanctions on Iran in 2018, Iranian companies have had to rely on their own technical experience to continue upstream and downstream hydrocarbon projects. In recent months, local companies have had varying amounts of success onshore and offshore with projects including the development of the giant South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf.
According to the press release from oil ministry-aligned news agency, the MOU was signed by CEO of Petropars Group Hamid Reza Masoudi and Seyed Abdullah Mousavi, CEO of NIDC.
The two companies reportedly stressed the need to provide conditions for cooperation in the implementation of future petroleum projects—but did not mention which projects they had in mind.
53​ IRAN Country Report June 2020 www.intellinews.com