The total revenues of Iran’s petrochemical industry will increase by $4 billion compared to last Iranian year (March 2021-22) and reach $27 billion by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2023), the National Petrochemical Company’s director for planning and development said.
“This year, petrochemical feedstock will increase and 5 million tons will be added to the production capacity of the petrochemical industry. The annual output is expected to reach 80 million tons and this will help raise the exports, which in turn will lead to higher revenues,” Hassan Abbaszadeh was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana.
The official noted that last year, the gas feed capacity of petrochemical complexes was equal to 98 million cubic meters per day, which will increase this year to help raise output.
“Our focus is to complete the value chain of petrochemical products so that we can reduce the sale of raw materials and semi-finished products, create more added value and eliminate the need for imports, which currently stand at $1.5-2 billion,” he added.
Referring to investments in the petrochemical industry, Abbaszadeh said, “Due to the lower attraction of foreign investments in the past few years, the main burden has been borne by holding companies and they invest about $4 billion annually in the petrochemical sector.”
Since almost all of the big holding companies are semi-private ones, the official hoped that the real private sector would also invest in the petrochemical industry.
“Currently, 140 types of products are produced in petrochemical complexes across the country and an addition of 20 products is planned in the next five years,” he added.
Current and Future Projects
According to the official, currently 68 projects are underway with an average progress of 30%.
These projects require $35 billion in investment and so far $9 billion have been spent on them, he added.
Abbaszadeh said the annual production of petrochemical products is scheduled to increase by 51 million tons in five years.
“NPC has also made plans for the next 10 years when, with the completion of 37 projects, another 58 million tons will be added to the annual petrochemical output capacity,” he added, stressing that the projects require an investment of $40 billion.
The petrochemical industry has improved tremendously in the past four decades and its capacity has risen from 1.5 million tons a year to 90 million tons per year.
“The production capacity of petrochemical industry will increase to 200 million tons in 10 years,” he said.
Speaking about last year’s output and exports, Abbaszadeh said 65 million tons of various products were produced, of which 25 million tons were exported.
“We now have 30% of the installed capacity of the Middle East and about 3% of the capacity of the world's major products. With the help of the ongoing and future plans, we are trying to increase these capacities,” he said.
Commenting on the performance of the Petrochemical Research and Technology Company, affiliated to NPC, in gaining the knowhow to produce catalysts used in the petrochemical industry, Abbaszadeh said this year, new catalysts will be unveiled.
According to the latest reports, all catalysts in the petrochemical industry will be indigenized with the help of Iranian experts and engineers in three years.
With abundant hydrocarbon reserves and new private sector investments, Iran is working hard to maintain its global status in the key sector and broaden its scope.
As several projects are underway to increase petrochemical output, Iran’s annual revenues from the industry are expected to grow by 230% in five years and reach $50 billion by 2027.
