The government, on Sunday, submitted a detailed bill to the parliament for ratification based on which the feedstock for the industrial units, power plants, refineries, and petrochemical facilities will be priced in a way that they can compete with their rivals in the region, reported SENA.
The bill, which is aimed at removing the obstacles in the way of competitive production as well as improving the country's financial system, was prepared after numerous meetings attended by the lawmakers in expert committees, representatives of the Supreme Audit Court, and representatives from the private sector and cooperatives.
The bill, if ratified, will allow those refineries buying the crude oil and natural-gas condensate at 95% of the free on board (FOB) prices to directly export the petroleum products surplus. Such refineries would also be exempt from paying the fees the National Development Fund of Iran charges the exporters.
The equity market would best benefit from the ratification of the bill as the refineries' ticker symbols at the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE)'s trading board have been closed for months due to the ambiguity in the pricing of their feedstock. None of the refineries were able to present their six-month financial outlook reports in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 22), which has led to widespread dissatisfaction among the shareholders. The refineries say they would be unable to officially announce their gains and losses unless the ambiguity problem is resolved.
