JAM Petrochemical Complex panoramic view | Source: TOPCO Jam Petrochemical Company Linkedin page
Jam Petrochemical’s production site is a large olefins and polyolefins complex located in the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) at Assaluyeh, Bushehr province, on Iran’s Persian Gulf coast. The site benefits from direct access to PSEEZ port and pipeline infrastructure, enabling feedstock supply from South Pars and bulk exports of polymers and chemicals to regional and Asian markets, while its clustering with other complexes in Assaluyeh supports shared services, logistics and utilities.
The complex occupies about 77 hectares (with an additional 22 hectares reserved for phase‑2 expansions) and was developed under NPC’s “Olefins 10” program to process ethane and other fractions from the South Pars gas field into higher‑value petrochemicals. It houses multiple integrated units, including an ethane steam cracker, HDPE and LLDPE plants, butadiene and butene‑1 units, and associated utilities and storage, making it one of Iran’s largest olefin hubs and a major exporter of ethylene, polyethylene, propylene and related products.
Production Capacities
NPC summarizes Jam Petrochemical Complex as having a total nominal capacity of 3,079.5 kt/y of petrochemical products across its integrated olefin, PE and C4‑derivative units, on a site area of 77 hectares plus 22 hectares for phase‑2 development. The complex was founded in 2000, with major process units commissioned over 2007–2012 as follows:
| Unit / product |
Capacity (kt/y) |
Licensor |
Startup |
| Ethylene (cracker) |
1,320 |
Technip |
2007 |
| Propylene |
305 |
Technip |
2007 |
| Raw pygas / CFO / C4+ |
216 / 40 / 245 |
Technip |
2007 |
| HDPE |
300 |
Basell |
2007 |
| LLDPE / HDPE |
300 |
Basell |
2008 |
| Butadiene 1,3 |
115 |
BASF |
2009 |
| C4 raffinate |
130 |
(BASF flow) |
2009 |
| Butene‑1 |
100 |
Axens |
2012 |
| C6+ |
8.5 |
Axens |
2012 |
Cracker Feed
A project to increase the capacity of the steam cracker by 15% was completed by mid 2019. The Jam Petrochemical olefin plant, was already the largest in Iran at 1,320 ktpa ethylene, but is assessed to have increased to around 1,500 ktpa ethylene in size. The unit started up in 2008 and has approximately 50% of its ethylene production tied to ethane. The steam cracker also processes other NGL and liquid feedstocks."
Input feeds for the complex are summarized by NPC:
| Input feed |
Amount (kt/y) |
Source |
| Light cuts |
680 |
Nouri (Borzuyeh) Petrochemical Co. |
| Raffinates |
380 |
Nouri (Borzuyeh) Petrochemical Co. |
| C5 cut |
55 |
Nouri (Borzuyeh) Petrochemical Co. |
| LPG |
83 |
Nouri (Borzuyeh) Petrochemical Co. |
| Heavy aromatics |
16 |
Nouri (Borzuyeh) Petrochemical Co. |
| Ethane |
707 |
South Pars Gas Field |
| Ethane |
257 |
Pars Petrochemical Co. |
| C3+ |
87 |
Arya Sasol–Kavian–Morvarid Petrochemical Cos. |
| C5 cut |
91 |
Pars Petrochemical Co. |
Production Process Diagram
References
- JPC corporate website (Jan 30, 20226 capture accessed via the Internet Archive)
- NPC. COMPLEXES OF Iran’s PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY (Feb 2022)
- JAM Minitechnical Catalogue 2021-2022 (via SCRIBD)
- Gholipour G.H.. Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). JPC eyes more sale, better feedstock (Dec 9, 2016)
- Source: L'Usine Nouvelle. Ethylène/Technip construira le plus grand vapocraqueur au monde (Mar 18,2021)
- WoodMackenzie CHEMICALS. Jam Petrochemical expands capacity of largest steam cracker in Iran (Aug 16, 2019)
