The development of petrochemical industry will help reduce crude sales, produce value-added products from hydrocarbon resources and generate higher revenues for the country, director of planning and development at the National Petrochemical Company said.
“The current development program includes diversifying the products, completing the value chain and reducing the import of petrochemicals,” Hassan Abbaszadeh was also quoted as saying by NPC’s news website Nipna.
A total of 10 projects will be launched by the end of the current Iranian year [March 20, 2022] and 40 more projects will become operational by 2025, he added.
The petrochemical production capacity is 90 million tons per year now and will reach 100 million tons by March 2022.
The petrochemical industry produces a variety of products, including polymers, chemicals, aromatics, fertilizers (used in the agricultural sector) and hydrocarbons used as fuel and feedstock.
“When completed, the 40 projects will increase the capacity to 133 million tons annually,” the official said, adding that the projects need an investment of $20 billion.
“The projects have made an average progress of 30% now and about $5.6 billion have been spent on them so far.”
Speaking about the position of Iran in the Middle East and the world regarding petrochemicals, Abbaszadeh said, “Iran has about 30% of the petrochemical market in the region. Globally, this figure is around 3%.”
Iran exported more than 25 million tons of petrochemical products last year, generating about $10 billion.
According to customs statistics, petrochemical import is approximately $1.3 billion per annum, but the country is making efforts to reduce the volume of imports, he added.
The official announced that the construction of three mega plants to produce olefin and aromatic products would begin in the near future.
The plants will complete the value chain of propylene, methanol, ethylene, benzene and urea.
Currently, the production capacity of polymers in the petrochemical industry is about 5 million tons per year in Iran, which is expected to reach 20 million tons by 2025.
“Hormoz Persian Gulf Petrochemical Company will be developed with an annual capacity of 5.8 million tons with an investment of about $4.5 billion. After receiving ethane and butane as its feedstock, the plant will produce polyethylene and polypropylene,” he added.
Another project will be Vista Energy Arghavan in Asalouyeh, which will be constructed with an investment of $1.6 billion. Fed by ethane and butane, the plant will have an annual production capacity of 1.8 million tons.
The third project is the aromatic olefin unit of Aria Oil and Gas Company, a subsidiary of the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company. Built at a cost of $4.8 billion, it will have an annual production capacity of 4.8 million tons, with naphtha and ethane as its feed.
