Michael Schultes, Raschig’s technical director, and Mansour Bazmi, the head of RIPI’s Technology and International Relations Department, signed the agreement in Tehran on Monday, IRNA reported.
The preliminary deal is centered on providing Iran with the know-how to design and build distillation units at refineries and petrochemical plants based on Raschig’s equipment.
The German firm will also hold training courses in Tehran as part of the agreement, according to Financial Tribune.
“RIPI has carried out extensive research on the design of distillation units and collaboration with Raschig will help us push the boundaries,” Bazmi said on Tuesday.
Distillation is the first process in petroleum refineries wherein crude oil is distilled into feedstock for all other processing units at the refinery. Founded in 1995, Raschig provides process technology equipment, fine chemicals and road repair materials, among other things.
“After initial assessments, we found Iran to be a suitable partner for trade and the commercialization of our products,” Schultes was quoted as saying. “We are a service provider for distillation units in Germany and many other countries.”
RIPI, the research and development arm of the Oil Ministry, is broadening ties with European companies and institutions on technology transfer to Iran’s key oil industry.
It has held talks with Delft University of the Netherlands to help boost extraction rate in an oilfield in the southern oil-rich Khuzestan Province.
That followed an agreement between RIPI and France’s IFP Energies Nouvelles last year to collaborate on reservoir studies, boosting extraction from Iran’s oil and gas fields, gas sweetening methods and protecting the environment.