Increase in Petrochem Production, Export

Iran’s export of petrochemicals to Europe in the past seven months between March 20 and Oct. 21 doubled compared to the same period in the previous year, director of production control at the National Petrochemical Company said without mentioning the exact volume.

“In the seven-month period, total production and export of petrochemicals rose 6% and 4% respectively compared with the same period in 2015,” Ali Mohammad Bosaqzadeh was also quoted as saying by IRNA on Saturday.

The official said easing of international economic sanctions in January gave fresh impetus to Europe-bound shipments of petrochemicals as well as oil and gas exports.

According to Bosaqzadeh, the lion's share of petrochemical consignments goes to Asian buyers, namely in India, China and South Korea.

Expressing satisfaction with the level of petrochemical exports to Africa, he said Iran aims to raise exports to the black continent in line with growing output.

“Iran produced a total of 28.7 million tons of petrochemicals in the seven months,” Bosaqzadeh said.

Petrochemical production capacity is currently 65 million tons per year. Tehran hopes to boost it to 130 million tons a year by 2020 before reaching the lofty goal of 180 million tons per annum by 2025.

Kermanshah Polymer Company, Polynar Corporation, Kharg Petrochemical Company, Khorasan Petrochemical Company and Kermanshah Petrochemical Industries Company are among the companies with highest growth in production.

Considering the fact that overhaul of petrochemical complexes are normally carried out in spring and summer, coupled with Iran’s growing production of crude oil in recent months, petrochemical output jumped significantly over Sept. 22-Oct. 21, the official noted.

Domestic consumption of petrochemicals has also increased by 3-4%.

  Oil Price Impact

Commenting on the impact of volatile global oil prices on the regional petrochemical market, Bosaqzadeh concurred that the weak oil prices in the past two years weighed heavily on petrochemical prices.

Data shows that Iran has 38% of the petrochemical market in the Middle East, but  produces only 4.8% of the world's petrochemicals a year despite sitting on some of the world's largest crude oil and natural gas reserves.

Stating that an Iranian petrochemical delegation has held constructive negotiations with European companies over increasing exports on the sidelines of the “K 2016” trade fair in the Dusseldorf last month, Bosaqzadeh said companies from Germany, the UK and Hungary are customers of Iranian petrochemicals. Marzieh Shahdaei, the NPC chief, said last month that Iran I seeking $72 billion in foreign investment for 80 major petrochemical projects.