Addressing a press conference, the CEO of Supplying
Parts, Equipments and Chemicals Engineering Co. (SPEC), Jalil Sobhani, said, fortunately,
Iran is currently self-sufficient in catalyst production, adding: "We have
to move towards exporting catalysts, and we have registered some licenses for
catalyst production so far."
"At present, only 30% of domestic products
are used in petrochemical plants and refineries, which we expect to reach 50 or
60 percent in the year of supporting domestic producers and manufacturers,"
he told reporters.
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has named the calendar year of 1397 as the year
of "Supporting Iranian Producers".
He said 2008 is marked as the climax of SPEC's
performance when the cruel sanctions were not imposed on Tehran yet.
At that time the US, in an abrupt move, banned selling
vital catalysts for petrol production to Iran and "we were entrusted to
provide the item by importing it or relying on domestic capabilities for its
production."
Today, he added, 90% of the catalysts used for
production of Euro-4 and Euro-5 gasoline are domestically produced in Iran.
Sobhani continued: "At present, the
refineries of Isfahan and Tehran, and Noori, Bu Ali and Bandar Imam petrochemical
plants, as well as the Persian Gulf Star Refinery, use domestic catalysts to
produce gasoline."
He said local production and consumption of catalysts
have saved Iran over a billion dollars, adding this can lead to export of $60
billion of goods for the country.