Iran and Germany’s Uhde company are currently in talks over the licensing of a technology for propylene production at Salman Farsi petrochemical complex, currently under construction in the southern city of Mahshahr. According to the head of the Iranian petrochemical guild, Ali Mohammad Rajali, Uhde and another European company are holding talks with Iran to provide the technology for propane dehydrogenation (PDH). The plant is expected to be completed by 2020 and will provide the feedstock for nearby petrochemical complexes including Rejal, Marun and Navid-Zar Chemie. Once completed, the €285m Salman Farsi facility will produce 450,000 tonnes of propylene per year.

Iran expects to expand polypropylene production at its Rejal plant from 160,000 tonnes per annum to 220,000 tonnes, once feedstock supply is secured from Salman Farsi. Elsewhere, Iranian economic newspaper The Financial Tribute said on 31 January that the state-owned National Petrochemical Company (NPC) was in talks with France's Air Liquide global E&C Solutions (formerly Lurgi GmbH) over the construction of a polypropylene production plant.

"To complete the value chain of the petrochemical industry, NPC has set a tight schedule, which entails cooperation between Air Liquide and Iran’s Petrochemical Research and Technology Company in building a polypropylene unit in Iran,” said deputy head of NPC, Ali Mohammad Bosaqzadeh.