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Lorestan Petrochemical Complex | Credit: Wikiplast 

Lorestan Petrochemical Complex, also known as Khorramabad Petrochemical Complex, is an Iranian polyethylene producer specializing in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), alongside 1-butene and polyethylene catalyst production. The company operates as part of the West Ethylene Pipeline (WEP) corridor development strategy.

Production Capacity and Technology

The complex operates with a combined nominal capacity of 330,100 tonnes per year across three main product lines:

• The polyethylene plant produces 300,000 tonnes annually of combined LLDPE and HDPE using LyondellBasell's Spherilene gas-phase technology, which was licensed in October 2005 as part of the broader West Ethylene Pipeline development strategy.
• A separate 1-butene unit produces 30,000 tonnes per year utilizing Axens' Alpha Butol technology (from France).
• In a significant milestone for Iranian petrochemical self-sufficiency, the complex added a domestic catalyst production unit in August 2020 with a capacity of 100 tonnes per year of Ziegler-Natta catalyst, representing the first polyethylene catalyst manufacturing facility in Iran.

Project Development and Construction

Project planning commenced in 2004-2005, with the engineering, procurement, and construction contract awarded in February 2008 to a consortium consisting of Tecnimont S.p.A. of Italy as lead contractor and NARGAN Company of Iran as local partner. The combined EPC contract for both Lorestan and Mahabad petrochemical plants was valued at €428 million, with approximately $400 million attributed to the Lorestan facility. Construction began in 2007-2008, though the project experienced significant delays from its originally planned 2008 startup. The polyethylene and butene-1 plants achieved commercial operation in 2015, seven years behind the initial schedule, while the catalyst production unit was inaugurated by President Hassan Rouhani via video conference in August 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Startup Timeline Context

Feedstock and Infrastructure

Lorestan Petrochemical receives its primary feedstock of 300,000 tonnes per year of ethylene through the West Ethylene Pipeline, which transports ethylene from production facilities at Assaluyeh on the Persian Gulf coast across 2,700 kilometers to petrochemical complexes in western and northwestern Iran. The pipeline route passes through Noor Abad Mamsani, Mahshahr, and Andimeshk before reaching Khorramabad, then continues northward to Hamadan, Kurdistan Province, and terminates in West Azerbaijan at Mahabad. This infrastructure enables Lorestan and other western province petrochemical plants to access competitively priced ethylene from South Pars gas condensate cracking operations.