The Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company is ready to cooperate with leading German companies in chemical and petrochemical industries, managing director of PGPIC said.
Abdolali Ali-Askari made the statement in a meeting held in Tehran where PGPIC hosted a delegation consisting of President of Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade Michael Schoon and members of the association, and Iran's Ambassador to Germany Mahmoud Farazandeh, the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana reported.
Referring to unfair sanctions imposed on Iran since 2018, he said, “Sanctions are a threat to our country but with the efforts of Iranian experts and engineers, it became an opportunity, and today we have thousands of knowledge-based companies dealing with state-of-the-art technology,” he said.
“Until a few years ago, we were dependent on imports in the petrochemical industry, but currently we manufacture about 80% of petrochemical industry equipment and catalysts domestically,” he added.
The meeting was held with the aim of promoting cooperation in the production of petrochemical products, facilities and equipment, and the revival and expansion of relations between Iran and Germany in the petrochemical industry.
Speaking in the same meeting, Farazandeh pointed to the 20-year history of the Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade with 1,300 companies as members and said the association, which is represented in more than 70 countries, is cooperating with the world's largest companies, and this is the first trip of the association to Iran.
“The union seeks to find new markets for German products and meet the needs of this country from new destinations, and the petrochemical field is one of the attractive fields for this union,” he added.
Schoon expressed his satisfaction with the trip to Iran and said: “Preparations for this trip started two years ago; we have come to work with Iranian companies with mutual trust, and correct the false images that are on both sides. We seek constructive and mutually respectful relationships.”
Targeting Output of 20m Tons
PGPIC’s production is expected to reach 20.5 million tons by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2023).
Of the total output, 10.9 million tons will be supplied to the domestic market while 9.6 million tons will be exported. The total value of the products will reach $13.5 billion by the yearend.
A total of 21 projects worth $15 billion are underway at PGPIC, which is touted as the largest petrochemical firm in Iran.
According to reports, PGPIC earned $2.4 billion from petrochemical export in the first half of last year (March 21-Sept. 22, 2021). The company increased its operating income by 71%, consolidated operating profit by 164%, raised net profit by 148% and raised its earnings per share by 146% during the period.
PGPIC now ranks 37th in the world, second in the Middle East after SABIC and almost unrivaled in the country in terms of sales.
The company has topped sales index, market value, export volume, profitability and generation of value added in the country for several years.
It has invested over $2.3 billion in various projects in the past three years, despite sanctions imposed by the US on the company.
The company produced 28 million tons of various petrochemical products last year. With the completion of ongoing projects, the figure is expected to reach 50 million tons per year in six years.
As Iran’s largest petrochemical company with 60 subsidiaries, PGPIC accounts for around 42% of the national petrochemical production, which is about 70 million tons per year. It also accounts for 41% of Iran's petrochemical exports.
PGPIC is a public holding company that manages natural gas processing plants and chemical factories, as well as oil and polymer companies.
