Dr. Hossein Rafighdoost, CEO of Fanavaran Petrochemical Company, spoke to “Rahbord Energy” on the sidelines of the 7th Kish Domestic Manufacturing Exhibition at the company’s booth regarding the latest status of the Co2 Capturing and VAM (Vinyl Acetate Monomer) development projects, stating: The Co2 Capturing project is currently at approximately 43 percent progress and we plan to reach 50 percent by April 2026 and we will be able to enter the commissioning phase next year.
Rafighdoost added: All equipment for the pre-launch section of the Co2 Capturing project, which is a long-lead item, has been ordered and prepayments have been made, POs have been issued to domestic and foreign manufacturers, and construction is underway. Fanavaran Co2 Capturing project is the largest carbon dioxide gas recovery project of its kind in the country, which allows us to add 50,000 to 70,000 tons of methanol to the company’s production annually, in addition to complying with environmental issues and preventing pollution.
Regarding the VAM project, the CEO of Fanavaran Petrochemical said: “We have approved proposals from four countries so far for the technology license and technical knowledge discussions of the VAM project, but in order to secure liquidity for several of our other projects, we have postponed this project a little so that these projects can make better physical progress and then we can enter the new VAM project and we can probably move the project location from Fanavaran itself to the land of Site 5.”
Rafighdoost also announced about the hydrogen-fired boiler project: The hydrogen-fired boiler project is the first project in the country and has been completed and is in production with 100 percent performance. It has been in production and activity since it was launched last year.
Regarding the reasons for company’s record-breaking methanol production in recent months compared to the same period last year, the CEO of Fanavaran Petrochemical Company clarified: “In the field of acetic acid, given that its global price has dropped significantly, we deliberately focused on exporting in smaller batches, i.e. tankers, IBC containers, and barrel pallets, as well as offering it on the stock exchange and delivering it to Tondogoyan Petrochemical Company and other domestic industries.”
Whereas Fanavaran Petrochemical is the only acetic acid producer in the country, our strategy in the field of acetic acid has been to prioritize meeting the needs of the domestic market and selling in smaller packages at a better price, so that when the global price situation improves, we can increase our production accordingly. Therefore, we deliberately adopted this strategy to reduce acetic acid capacity.
Regarding methanol production, Rafighdoost added: “After the 12-day war and the very heavy overhaul we had, despite all the gas imbalances and restrictions that were practically lifted on February 11, we were able to have good production and we can definitely surpass the 20-million-dollar sales record in the projected budget plan, and despite the decline in the price of methanol in the global market and the very sharp increase in the price of gas feedstock, we can provide good profits to shareholders.”
Regarding the sanctions restrictions on Iranian methanol exports, such as the lack of docking of methanol ships, buyers in the Chinese and Indian markets are inclined to buy with low tonnage and price discounts. On the other hand, considering the excess supply and reduced global demand and the $88 spread in the Chinese and Indian markets, which of course did not lead to arbitrage, does Fanavaran Petrochemical Company include these restrictions? The CEO of Fanavaran Petrochemical Company emphasized: Unfortunately, the current situation of Iranian methanol in the global market is such that even India has already left the Iranian market, and unfortunately, China has become the exclusive market for Iranian methanol exports, but considering the issue of production sustainability that we have, especially in winter, our customers, both in terms of timely delivery and product quality, have all become parameters that have made Fanavaran Petrochemical Company have no problem in sales.
Therefore, our problem has been mostly the discussion of global price reduction and the discussion of increasing feed prices, and there has been no problem with the customer. Of course, the discussion of providing a greater price discount was requested by the Chinese market, not India.
