Kimya Development Group has three decades of experience in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry and is one of the largest manufacturers of active pharmaceutical ingredients in the country, which is considered the only producer in the region and Iran in the production of some products.
In recent years, the private sector has proven that it has taken good measures in providing the technical knowledge of the world by providing the necessary tools and has not had many restrictions.
Kimya Development Group will be much less dependent on imports in the future in the production of diverse and strategic drugs, by having the products needed by the chain.
What our petrochemical industry needs is development centered on intelligence and based on current world standards and indicators, which, while creating sustainable profits for investors, is able to meet domestic needs as much as possible.
The allocation of feed to the private sector for the development of the value chain requires a responsible and authorized institution, and until this happens, a significant part of the development of the value chain will remain unattended.
Mr. Behzad Mohammadi is a well-known person in the oil industry, whose services and competences are not hidden from anyone. He is a pragmatic and experienced manager in the oil industry, whose remarkable services have been remembered in the development sectors of the country’s oil and petrochemical industry. He graduated from Shiraz University in chemical engineering majoring in oil refining industries. Mr. Mohammadi’s role in Iran’s oil industry began in 1982; He was in charge of the R&D management of Farabi Petrochemical Company from 1982 to 1984, a process and project management expert in various projects at Oil Industries Engineering and Construction Company (OIEC), the successful launch of phases 9 and 10 of South Pars in 1988 and the launch manager Oil Industries Engineering and Construction Company (OVIC) is another bright record of Mr. Mohammadi in the oil industry. Oico Group has completed dozens of national projects and megaprojects in the upstream and downstream sectors of oil and gas on land and sea, from design and engineering to procurement, construction, commissioning and operation. Some of the most important ones are: the launch and operation of South Pars Phases 9, 10, 17, 18, 20 and 21 projects, the implementation of NGL Siri, Azar oil field, the launch and operation of Persian Gulf Star Refinery, etc. Engineer Mohammadi is the first CEO of Oil Industries Commissioning and Operating Company (OICO). Mr. Mohammadi, during his 5 years of successful and brilliant presence in Oico company, was able to turn this start-up company into a unique company in the fields of start-up, operation, repair, maintenance and specialized training in the megaprojects of the oil, gas and petrochemical industries. In September 2014, with the approval of the general meeting of shareholders of Oil Industries Engineering and Construction Company (OIEC), Behzad Mohammadi returned to this company and replaced Seyed Mahmoud Imamzadeh as the CEO of OVIC Group. On November 27, 2018, Behzad Mohammadi was appointed as deputy minister and CEO of the National Petrochemical Industries Company by the decree of Bijan Zanganeh, then Minister of Oil. Now, being at the head of “Kimya Development Group”, he has used all his valuable experiences in this development and knowledge-based company.
On the sidelines of the 27th Oil Industry Exhibition, Mr. Behzad Mohammadi said in a conversation with Danesh Neft: “The oil exhibition is basically a great opportunity to strengthen communication and identify the potentials and capabilities of small and large companies in various sectors of this important and strategic industry. The 27th exhibition is no exception to this rule. Mr. Mohammadi told Danesh Neft about the history of “Kimya Development Group”: “Kimya Development Group has three decades of experience in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry and is one of the largest manufacturers of active pharmaceutical ingredients in the country, which is the only producer in the production of some products. The region and Iran are considered. With the aim of meeting the needs of its pharmaceutical factories, Kimya Group has decided to develop the value chain and produce the chemical products it needs through the development of the downstream petrochemical industry. (Backward Integration).
He further stated: Currently, the Petronad multi-purpose petrochemical park and the Damon petrochemical project are being developed in Mahshahr Special Economic Zone. The requirements of the Kimiagaran factory today are provided by this group in the Shazand region of Arak, and practically, for the Kimya group in the production of various and strategic drugs, by having the products needed by the chain, the dependence on the import of these products will be greatly reduced.
Referring to the needs of the petrochemical industry, Mr. Mohammadi explained: what our petrochemical industry needs is development centered on intelligence and based on current trends and indicators, which, while creating sustainable profits for investors, is able to meet domestic needs to the extent able to provide Unfortunately, the term value chain development is used in all circles and speeches, without mentioning the pillars of the value chain and the requirements for its realization. He further emphasized: We must accept that the development model in the petrochemical industry has become completely different compared to the eighties, and insisting on the development indicators of those years will lead to instability and heavy financial losses for the investor, which may occur not at the time of the project’s construction, but in the year more distant ones to show their effect. Referring to the capabilities of the National Petrochemical Industry Company, Mr. Mohammadi said: In this situation, the only institution that has sufficient authority and power to create a balance in the proper development of the value chain in the petrochemical industry is the National Petrochemical Industry Company (NPC). Let’s not forget that among the four main vice-chairs of the Ministry of Oil, the National Petrochemical Industry Company is the only one that has a development role and as a developer has specific, different and legal powers.
He further added: In an industry where there are 70 production complexes and more than 50 projects under construction, it is obvious that all these 120 complexes and projects, as economic enterprises, should think about maximizing their own profits and basically financial prosperity and sustainability. Profitability is their most important concern. He continued: We have invested enough in the upstream of the petrochemical industry, in the conversion of natural gas to methanol and urea, in the coming years, we will reach a consumption of 150 million cubic meters of natural gas per day. Continuing his analysis of the future of the petrochemical industry, he expressed: In the South Pars region, with various olefin projects under construction, all the ethane produced in the olefin units will be converted into ethylene and finally polyethylenes, and in the next few years, practically There will be no excess ethane feed for development. In the petrochemical projects downstream of the NGL projects, which prepare gasses with oil for petrochemical feed, large and small petrochemical complexes are in operation or under construction. He concluded that; It can be said that with the existing track in the development of oil and gas fields, there is practically no food for the development of upstream petrochemical projects and we are forced to move towards the development of downstream petrochemical projects.
Mr. Mohammadi pointed to the development of petrorefineries and stated: Of course, we should not ignore the fact that another development path of the petrochemical industry is the development of petrorefineries, which requires its own requirements, and in addition to the advantage of available feedstock, which is crude oil, the dimensions of capital It has a high cost that affects the feasibility of implementing these plans.
In the continuation of his conversation with Danesh Naft about the development of the value chain, Mr. Mohammadi stated: In the past few years, one of the most common topics of speeches and presentations in various conferences and congresses has been the discussion of the development of the value chain. Mr. Mohammadi clarified by mentioning some questions:
- Has anyone really talked about the requirements to realize the development of the value chain?
- Is the understanding of the private sector investor and the government institutions with total authority, the development of the value chain the same?
- Has there been an important event based on statistics and reasoning in this area in recent years?
Mr. Mohammadi further emphasized: It is obvious that until the means of value chain development are not provided, we cannot expect a real and significant event in this field. He continued: If we want to mention the financial ability and the provision of technical knowledge as two basic requirements in the development of the value chain and the implementation of downstream projects in the petrochemical industry, acceptable answers can be found for these two questions. He clarified: Unlike upstream projects, the downstream projects of the petrochemical industry do not require a large amount of investment, and perhaps the capital provision factor of such projects should not be considered as a deterrent factor. On the other hand, in recent years, the private sector has proven that it has taken good measures in providing the technical knowledge of the world by providing the necessary tools, and practically, it has not had many restrictions.
He continued to emphasize: In my opinion, the most important pillar of value chain development is the lack of reliable sources for building such projects. If the unit of counting capacity in upstream petrochemical projects is million tons per year, the capacity unit in downstream projects is reduced to one thousand tons per year, and this means that in the development of the value chain, the production of specific and diverse products, with the capacity of million tons, it is needed to be able to give new life to the complementary industries by producing all kinds of chemicals, and to ease the worries of the downstream factories from providing feed and producing final products.
In summing up his remarks, he said: Therefore, the problem should be looked for elsewhere, where every investment will not be made until it is sufficiently assured, and that is nothing but “sustainable food supply”. which is available in the industry itself and the upstream and downstream petrochemicals own it. If I want to summarize the discussion, I must say; The allocation of these feeds to the private sector for the development of the value chain requires a responsible and authorized institution, and until this happens, a significant part of the development of the value chain will remain unattended.
Mr. Behzad Mohammadi pointed out at the end; The National Company of Petrochemical Industries, which has the position of the architect and the helmsman of the development of the petrochemical industry, can hold the key to the development of the value chain by strengthening its role in this space and decisively managing inter-complex feeds, so that important events take place in this field.