SHANA - Iran says it will share with Air Liquide ownership of the technical knowhow needed for production of propylene from methanol, a senior petrochemical official said.

Managing Director of National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Marziyeh Shahdaei said Iran will share ownership of methanol-to-propylene technology with Air Liquide.

Iran's Petrochemical Research and Technology Company (PRTC) on August 9 signed a deal with the French multinational company in Germany on development of MTP technologies and acquisition of the required licenses.

In previous such deals, Iran had no role in ownership of petrochemical licenses but in this deal the country will share ownership of the license with Air Liquide, she said.

"The deal was the first one of its kind for Iran has struck with a foreign company," Shahdaei added.

The deal concerns developing joint licenses for MTP process and basic engineering of construction of a 500,000-ton MTP plant in Iran.

PRTC has developed MTP knowhow under the US-led sanctions on Tehran and has built Iran's first MTP pilot plant in southwestern Mahshahr County.

NPC signed a deal with Lurgi for acquisition of MTP knowhow and the related licenses but the company severed its ties with Iran under the sanctions.

Following implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Germany company returned to Iran to hunt out investment and cooperation opportunities in a ban-free OPEC-member Iran.

As PTRC has been able to develop the MTP technology, it has agreed to develop a shared license for MTP procedure with Lurgi, said Marziyeh Shahdaei, who is also deputy petroleum minister in petrochemical affairs.

Once the technology is developed, the two companies will build a 500,000-ton MTP plant in Iran.

Air Liquide has so far constructed similar plants in two other countries.

This is the first time for Tehran to share with another company technology ownership of a petrochemical procedure, she added.

"This gives Iran an opportunity to sell the technology in international markets," she said.

The plant will be built at Phase II of Pars Special Economic Energy Zone given its proximity to abundant methanol supplies.

Developing the technical savvy for building the plant will need a period of 6 months.