The Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company will continue its functions despite the new US sanctions on the petrochemical sector.
Jafar Rabiei, managing director of PGPIC made the statement on Saturday in response to the new restrictions the Trump administration announced against Iran's main petrochemical company.
The US Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Iran's petrochemical sector on Friday that would apply to PGPIC and 39 of its 60 subsidiaries and foreign sales agents.
According to Rabiei, PGPIC accounts for 37% of the total national petrochemical production, which is close to 60 million tons per year. It also accounted for 41% of Iran's petrochemical exports that generated $10 billion in 2017.
"The new sanctions had been predicted. We will continue on our declared path," he said.
The US Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Iran's petrochemical sector on Friday against PGPIC and 39 of its 60 subsidiaries and foreign sales agents
The company exported 8.5 million tons to international markets in 2017 generating $4 billion, he said. PGPIC revenues increased to $5 billion a year later.
It is the second largest provider of chemical compounds to domestic manufacturers. PGPIC is Iran’s largest petrochemical company with 60 subsidiaries, owning more than 11% of Iran’s capital market.
"Remaining calm, not showing emotional reactions and or nervous excitement will be our priority in the present circumstances," he noted.
Tensions have escalated between Tehran and Washington in recent weeks after the US intensified economic sanctions with the declared aim of forcing Iran to make concessions beyond the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal Tehran signed with the six world powers.
Embattled US President Donald Trump last May withdrew from the historic agreement officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, under which Tehran curbed its uranium enrichment program and won sanctions relief in return.
"The new sanctions are a clear violation of international law," Abbas Mousavi, the Foreign Ministry's spokesman, said on Saturday.
Latest Provocations
Washington's latest provocations come despite the fact that the Trump team on several occasions in the past two weeks called on Iran to return to the negotiating table and agree to a new and “comprehensive” agreement with Washington. Tehran has said it is not interested.
The petrochemical sector is the second-most important industry in Iran after oil and gas. Improvement and optimization of petrochemical plants is underway to boost productivity.
A total of 55 companies in Iran annually produce 60 million tons of petrochemicals for the domestic and international markets.
Iran produces a large variety of petrochemicals (almost 350 types), for which there is high international demand, and exports to 30 Asian, European and South American countries.
Officials in Tehran say there are several hundred customers worldwide for Iran’s products. “Petrochemical customers are not countries. They are private companies,” Ali Mohammad Bosaqzadeh, the director for projects at the National Petrochemical Company said.
“For example, when methanol is shipped to India, there are many buyers who cannot be easily detected,” Bosaqzadeh noted.
Unlike the oil sector, the petrochemical industry cannot be restricted. Diversity of petrochemical products plus high global demand make the nature of the industry un-sanctionable, he was quoted as saying.
