• Energy

    Iran Petrochemical Industry Expanding in Overseas Markets

    The domestic petrochemical industry is well placed in the global market and plans to expand, said the director of planning and development at the state-run National Petrochemical Company.

    Speaking on the sidelines of the 12th International Iran Plast Exhibition in Tehran, Farnaz Alavi said “Iran's petrochemical sector has a good presence in international markets and we have been able to sell in Asia and Europe,” NIPNA , the National Petrochemical Company's news agency, quoted her as saying.

    With abundant hydrocarbon resources and the private sector’s new investments, Iran is making efforts to maintain its global status in the sector and broaden its scope.

    “By expanding the range of products, we can enter new markets in Africa and South America,” she added.

    Alavi referred to the importance of the Iran Plast Exhibition saying that it provides a timely opportunity for the upstream (supplier) and downstream (consumer) industries to share experience and forge closer working relations.

    Speaking on the sidelines of the exhibit, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said, "Our petrochemical industry is thriving and we will have a 7-8% increase in our production by March 2019.”

    He said there is no problem in providing petrochemical plants with natural gas as feedstock. 

    Boosting Exports

    “This year more ethane will be supplied to the petrochemical plants," the minister stated. “Moreover, with the launch of new units, namely Pardis Petrochemicals Phase 3 (which opened September 4 in  Assalouyeh in Bushehr Province), we hope to boost exports.”

    The four-day Iran Plast Exhibit started Monday at the Tehran International Fairground. It is one of the largest exhibitions in the Middle East in the fields of raw materials, machinery and moulds, auxiliaries and services for plastics and rubber industries.

    Representatives from 15 countries including Germany, Switzerland, Cyprus, Belgium, India, Turkey, China and South Korea were present at the inauguration.

    The petrochemical sector is Iran’s second most important industry after oil and gas. Renovation and optimization of several petrochemical plants are underway in different provinces to increase output and meet growing domestic demand.

    Petrochemical companies produced 55 million tons last year. Polymer and petrochemical exports exceeded 22 million tons and generated $12 billion.