French industrial gases producer Air Liquide is reportedly in discussions with Iran about building a 500,000 t/y propylene via methanol (PVM) plant.

Owned and operated by Iran’s Petrochemical Research and Technology Company, the plant would be built at Mahshahr and would have capacity to produce 120,000 t/y, the journal Iran Business News said.

Esmaeil Qambari, the Iranian company’s managing director, said talks also are in progress with companies from Germany, France, Norway and Japan about licensing petrochemical technologies.

Qambari said Petrochemical Research and Technology Company has developed a new model for cooperation with foreign firms, stipulating that contracts will only be signed if the foreign technologies are transferred to and localized in Iran.

The new business model, the executive said, would generate jobs, link the upstream sector to the downstream and petrochemical sectors and generate added value for the industry.