National Petrochemical Co (NPC) recently stated that it has decided to cut back planned production capacity at its Olefins No 12 Project at Assalouyeh, which is expected to start operating from 2013.
This unit was designed to produce 1.8 million tons of ethylene and 900,000 tons of propylene per year, alongwith polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
However, now the capacity will be cut down to 600,000 tons of ethylene and 350,000 tons of propylene per year, the Company source informed at the ICIS World Polymers Conference.
Insider says that the reason for this move is that the Company was looking to diversify their products. The margins in the industry are also shrinking, and thus, production of new materials was necessary to maintain their income.
Assalouyeh Project's product list includes 700,000 tons of paraxylene and 300,000 tons of benzene per year.