Iran's oil, gas and petrochemicals exports by the private sector have increased by 20 percent in the March-September period compared to the same time last year, said Hamed Vahedi, chairman of the energy commission of Tehran Chamber of Commerce.
Production capacity of petrochemical and polymers has reached 60 million tons per year, ISNA reported.
The volume is expected to increase by 2 million tons upon the completion of 6 petrochemical plants in the near future, including phase 2 of Kavian Petrochemical Co. with an annual production capacity of 1 million tons and phase 2 of Karoon Petrochemical Co. as well as Mahabad, Lorestan, Takhte Jamshid and Hegmataneh complexes.
Vahedi urged government officials to put trust in the private sector and let them expand investment in petrochemical projects.
The private sector carries out much of the swap operations in the oil and gas sector and stabilizing the prices of petrochemicals by the government can "effectively facilitate swap operations" for the private sector, according to the official.
Vahedi said the transfer of money under the sanctions has been the most important activity of the private sector in the oil and gas industry.
"The sooner we reach agreements on sanctions with world powers, the more growth and profit we earn," he said, adding that the private sector has increased exports due to the government's efforts to curb domestic tensions.
Stability of the petrochemicals market will help boost the income of foreign currency. As a result, the government should support the private sector in different ways such as offering loans from the Export Guarantee Fund of Iran (EGFI) and lowering the interest rates of bank loans, he noted.
