Karun delays Iran TDI restart on technical issues

10 July 2008 13:06  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Iran-based Karun Petrochemical’s 40,000 tonne/year toluene di-isocyanate (TDI) plant has been plagued with technical problems since early June and the company would not be able to set a date for its restart, a source close to the company said on Thursday.

The plant was started up towards the end of May but due to technical issues, it was shut down shortly after it produced 50 tonnes of material, the source said, adding that the material was supplied to the domestic market.

The start-up of the new plant, which is the only TDI plant in the Middle East, was delayed twice before, said sources.

The plant is the first phase of an isocyanates complex, which is currently under construction at Bandar Imam, and would include a 40,000 tonne/year methyl di-p-phenylene isocyanate (MDI) plant, a 30,000 tonne/year aniline facility and a 56,000 tonne/year nitric acid line.

 The MDI plant was expected to come on stream one year after the TDI line started normal production, the source said.

Karun Petrochemical is 40% owned by National Petrochemical Co (NPC) of Iran, 30% by Chematur of Sweden, 10% by Hansa Chemie of Germany and 20% by Iran's Petrochemical Industries Investment Co.

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By: Chow Bee Lin
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