IRAN: Iran to triple installed petchem capacity in a decade

Iran plans to triple its installed capacity of petrochemicals in the next ten years, Iran's National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Managing director Marziyeh Shahdaie announced in a press conference in Tehran on Wednesday (2 Nov 2016).

She also put the current nominal petrochemical output of the country at 64 million tons and the operating output at 46 million tons.

Explaining that the petrochemical industry is a sector requiring high technology and investment to be developed, the official noted, “To expand this industry we need acquiring foreign technology and also attracting foreign investment; therefore, our relations with other countries play significant role in promotion of our petrochemical sector.”

Highlighting Iran’s huge potential for development of petrochemical industry Shahdaie said, “The foreigners I met in K-Plastics & Rubber Exhibition, recently held in Düsseldorf of Germany, believed that considering its high potential Iran can be a petrochemical hub in the region.”

The NPC official mentioned some of these potentials and advantages as access to the free waters, existence of expert manpower and production of a wide range of petrochemical products, the feature that other petrochemical producers in the region lack, because they do not have both rich oil and gas reserves as Iran enjoys for producing so many petrochemical products.

She said the current policy of the government for the petrochemical sector is development and growth through attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

Source: Daily “The Tehran Times”, Tehran; 2 Nov 2016

(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)