Abbasi, the CEO of Sepehr Energy Holding:
Sabalan Petrochemical is a successful instance of management in the face of challenging sanctions
Behrouz Abbasi, the CEO of Sepehr Energy Holding, Farhad Jahangiri, the Deputy CEO, and Zali, the CEO of Sabalan Petrochemical Co., visited the methanol production process in this petrochemical.
During the visit, the CEO of Sepehr Energy said: “The operation of Iran’s eighth methanol production unit is the product of self-confidence and collective resolution of Sepehr Energy and Sabalan Petrochemical employees, strengthening Iran’s ability to export products and create wealth to expand downstream industries.”
“Although the inauguration of Sabalan brought about 410 million dollars in annual currency, 1,650,000 tons of methanol and provided sustainable employment, another vital issue is self-sufficiency in producing three catalysts required in this petrochemical unit, made possible by the managers’ prudence in supporting domestic production. This will undoubtedly be fruitful for Islamic Iran. In the specific circumstances financing projects resulting from sanctions and the related problems and the international absence of state-of-the-art international professionals in this industry, the only solution was to step on the path of cooperation, having faith in suppliers and domestic producers, and growing mutual trust. The was the story of how Sabalan Petrochemical’s problems were grappled with.
He added: “The process of completing Sabalan is a successful example of management under the difficult conditions of sanctions, which, although made the way to success somewhat bumpy, led to increased knowledge, self-confidence, and reliance on indigenous forces. This approach will certainly be a great model for the future of Iran, especially other projects of Sepehr Energy Holding, where the aim is to reduce costs and time to complete projects while drawing a more transparent horizon in pushing grand organizational goals.
In the end, Abbasi added: “The intelligent support of Petrofarhang and Sepehr Saderat Financial Group as Sepehr Energy shareholders in mounting to the Sabalan Peak should be read as the major part of this success since, in the strictest economic conditions, they never neglected their essential role and always stressed their support of the project.” Undoubtedly, this support will continue to complete Dena and Siraf petrochemicals to achieve the annual production plan of 5 million tons of methanol in this holding.
Knowledge management and transfer of valuable experiences, on the agenda of Sepehr Energy
The Deputy CEO of Sepehr Energy also said in this visit: “The construction process of Sabalan had significant strengths, the most notable of which is the lower cost of completing the project. The successful completion of this petrochemical was accompanied by years of oppressive global sanctions and associated turbulent conditions prevailing Iran’s economy. We faced new tricky problems on a daily basis. Nevertheless, we successfully introduced a new management approach taking inspiration from national plans, the Supreme Leader’s decrees concerning the notion of the resistive economy, and the support for domestic production, providing the ground for other projects.
“Transferring knowledge from Sabalan to Dena and Siraf petrochemical Companies is one of the strategies that will be pursued in Sepehr Energy to see new achievements in the cost and time of completion of these two projects,” Farhad Jahangiri added.
In the end, he said: “Completing the value chain is the strategy that Sepehr’s Energy will adopt after methanol production since we believe this is a golden opportunity for Iran to create more wealth. The advantages of Sepehr Energy in this field include the following: it relies on ten years of accumulated knowledge, 5 million tons of AA grade methanol after the opening of three petrochemicals, and finally, the creation of effective capital from methanol export.”
A step towards a resistive economy and a boom in production
The CEO of Sabalan Petrochemical Co. also added: “The catalysts used in this complex were made for the first time in Iran at the order of Sabalan Petrochemical, by local experts in the Research and Technology Company. We have benefited from domestic models instead of having to rely on foreign models.
Mohammad Zali stated: “After the challenges caused by the lack of oxygen supply in the region, lead to significant damage to the company and the decommissioning of the oxygen line of Mobin Petrochemical, which was supposed to supply oxygen to the company,” fortunately, we were able to solve this problem with Marjan Petrochemical and resume methanol production.”
He added: “Today, we share the joy of launching Sabalan with many manufacturers, contractors, and constructors, because, to many of them, Sabalan was their first presence in a project of this scale, an opportunity they well took to realize their potential by successfully completing the project, fostering this belief that their actions will definitely be fruitful to Iran.”
