Iran's petrochemical output is planned to exceed 100 million tons per annum by 2018 from around 50 million tons a year at present, first deputy of National Petrochemical Company said on Tuesday.
"Plans call for producing 180 million tons of petrochemicals a year … but the global petrochemical industry is facing new risks and challenges," Mohammad Hassan Peyvandi said on the sidelines of the 7th Invest Show on Iran's Investment Opportunities on Kish Island, Mehr News Agency reported.
"Iran is slated to reach a petrochemical production capacity of more than 120 million tons a year by the end of the sixth five-year economic development plan (2016-21)."
The official said the target would generate an estimated $40 billion in annual revenues.
Peyvandi added that persistently low oil prices are counterproductive to the petrochemical sector, with producers such as Iran, Venezuela, Russia and Saudi Arabia at the receiving end of an oversupplied crude market.
The Iranian government has made it a top priority to "remove the bottlenecks of production and attract foreign investment" to develop the petrochemical sector, he added.
The prospect of lifting the sanctions has given impetus to developing petrochemical facilities in the Persian Gulf country. The construction of 19 methanol production plants with a combined capacity of 19 million tons a year is now underway, with China financing a majority of projects.
Iran, one of the world's top oil producers, exported around $14 billion worth of petrochemicals in 2014, down from more than $18 billion in 2011.
Annual petrochemical output in the previous two Iranian years accounted for 40.5 million tons and 44.5 million tons respectively.
According to official reports, Iran’s export of petrochemicals reached 2.48 million tons in March-September, bringing in $1.6 billion in revenues.
