Despite being out in the political wilderness for years, Iranians are getting serious about developing their massive reserves of oil and gas.

The National Petrochemical Company of Iran's contract with France's Technip and local outfit, Nargan, for the design and construction of its ethane cracker for the ninth Olefin Complex has just become effective. The contract, which was signed in September of this year, was subject to the setting up of a multi-source financing scheme finalised this week.

The project is worth in excess of 200 million euros and involves the supply of a one million-ton-a-year ethylene steam cracker, which will be built in the ninth petrochemical complex at Asaluyeh, Iran, on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf.

Under the terms of the contract, Technip provides its proprietary technologies, furnaces and processes for the production of ethylene, and together with its partner, Nargan, will carry out basic and detail engineering, procurement and supply of equipment and materials, supervision during construction and commissioning and start-up, as well as training services.

Technip has also been awarded a contract this year for the ethylene cracker of the tenth complex at Asaluyeh, which will deliver the largest output of ethylene to date in the world (1.4 million tons/year). The contract will come into force in the first half of next year.

Iran holds the world's third largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and the second largest gas reserves after Russia. Iran's oil industry infrastructure was badly damaged in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, but was rebuilt between 1989 and 1995. OPEC's second largest oil exporter said it will invest up to $2 billion to revitalise its oil industry.

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