Access to abundant oil and gas reserves is a unique advantage for the development of Iran's petrochemical industry, as the available resources guarantee the sector’s feedstock for at least 300 years.
Morteza Shah-Mirzaei, managing director of the National Petrochemical Company, made the statement while addressing a business delegation from Belarus in Tehran on Saturday, the Oil Ministry’s news portal reported.
The meeting was also attended by Dmitry Koltsov, ambassador of Belarus to Iran, and Vladimir Sizov, deputy managing director of Belneftekhim, an association of petrochemical companies in Belarus.
“Iran has proved that it has great potentials for investment, given its untapped hydrocarbon resources. A number of energy projects in Iran are in the second phase of development and as soon as they become operational, oil and gas output would register an exponential growth, the NPC chief said.
“Joining hands with other countries and drawing on the expertise of foreign companies will play a key role in developing Iran’s oil and gas sectors and augmenting its energy security.”
Shah-Mirzaei noted that Iran extracts 1 billion cubic meters of gas per day and its crude oil production capacity is about 4 million bpd, some of which are used as feedstock in the petrochemical industry.
“I invite Belarus companies to invest in Iran’s petrochemical projects as well as in oil and gas development projects,” he said.
With the implementation of these projects, NPC seeks to diversify the range of petrochemical products and help complete the value chain in the petrochemical sector.
Currently, 68 projects worth $35 billion are underway across the country to increase petrochemical output by 50 million tons per year and help develop the downstream sector.
Production Capacity
The annual production capacity of Iran's petrochemical industry will soon reach 90 million tons per year from the current 75 million tons per annum and plans are underway to boost the same to 135 million tons in six years.
About 67 petrochemical plants across the country received 40 million tons of feedstock, including condensates, ethane, natural gas and naphtha, in the last fiscal year, which was equivalent to 1 million barrels of crude per day.
“The figure is expected to surpass 2 million barrels per day in six years,” he added.
Referring to the huge oil and gas reserves in the country, Shah-Mirzaei said Iran has more than 159 billion barrels of oil reserves and about 33 trillion cubic meters of gas in place.
“There are about 5,600 kilometers of coastline in the north and south of Iran and the existence of numerous ports has facilitated the export and import of various oil, gas, petrochemical and industrial products,” he added.
Belarus Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko had recently said Belarus would like to intensify trade and economic cooperation with Iran.
“Now is the right time to take a fresh look at our relations, to take steps to strengthen our trade and economic cooperation. We have already established very good and constructive contacts at the political level. Our countries traditionally support each other in the international arena and regularly exchange official visits. The leaders of our states met almost a year ago,” Golovchenko said in July.
According to the Belarus premier, despite the external pressure, Belarus and Iran provide each other with all kinds of support.
In 2021, Belarus-Iran trade was estimated at $33.3 million, up by 34.7% over 2020. In January-May 2022, bilateral trade rose by 35.6% year-on-year.
International Standards
In a separate meeting, the delegation also met with Borzou Qanbari, the head of Engineering and Local Manufacturing of Drilling and Refinery Equipment at the National Iranian Oil Company.
“Iranian manufacturers of oil and gas equipment can meet the needs of Belarus in the field, as their products comply with international standards,” Qanbari said.
“More than 85% of the much-needed equipment in oil, gas and petrochemical industries are manufactured with indigenous know-how.”
An estimated 1,100 Iranian companies are active in manufacturing oil/gas equipment and can meet a large proportion of local requirement. These firms are capable of producing a wide range of equipment, including valves, boilers, turbines, pipes, bearings, electric brakes, traction motor, casing wrench and fluid pump, which comply with international standards.
The official noted that close to 80,000 people are directly and 120,000 indirectly employed in the oil/gas equipment manufacturing sector.
“Machinery and equipment for the oil industry, 80% of which in the past were imported, are being manufactured domestically by private companies with the help of knowledge-based firms,” he said.
The Oil Ministry has called on domestic manufacturers to mobilize their resources and prioritize the production of equipment and parts required by the oil industry.
The ministry has taken measures to boost the domestic manufacture of oil equipment to stem the outflow of foreign currency.
In 2014, a committee was set up to pursue the production of 10 major categories of equipment for the key oil and gas sector, including turbines and compressors.
