Privately-owned Iranian enterprise Marjan Petrochemical Co. has signed an export contract with a German company - believed by local sources to be largest world chemicals major BASF - to export methanol produced in Iran, official energy news agency SHANA reported on September 3.
If the deal moves ahead to the full extent, the plant could export 1.65mn tonnes of methanol to Germany. It would be Iran’s largest ever methanol export contract with a European buyer.
Although BASF has not been official named as the buyer, several reports in Persian-language media suggest that it is indeed the counter party to the Iranian firm.
The company’s plant, not yet fully constructed, will export and produce more than 1.8mn tonnes of methanol annually. The feedstock will likely come from the South Pars gas field.
Methanol is used as an antifreeze and as feedstock in producing acetic acid and formaldehyde. It has been tipped as an alternative fuel in ships.
In 2014, Japan and South Korea won the first ever orders to build vessels powered by methanol.
Iranian officials have talked of BASF making an investment of $4bn in Iran’s petrochemical industry.
In the first four months of 2017, non-oil exports to the European Union jumped fivefold year on year to €3.4bn.
Moreover, methanol produced by plants in Iran was one of the major exports to the 28-member bloc in the period.
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