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Iran Eyes Petrochem Expansion in Southern Regions

Iran Eyes Petrochem Expansion in Southern Regions
Iran Eyes Petrochem Expansion in Southern Regions

Iran is planning to spend billions of dollars into new petrochemical facilities in its oil- and gas-rich southern regions over a decade, Marzieh Shahdaei, head of the National Petrochemical Company said.

"We intend to create new hubs for petrochemical investment, such as the port city of Mahshahr (Khuzestan Province), Lavan and Qeshm islands (in the Persian Gulf), Jask (Hormozgan Province) and Chabahar (Sistan and Baluchestan Province)," Shahdaei was quoted as saying by Shana on Friday.

She added that the completion of several petrochemical projects with a progress of 30% or lower would require $20 billion in investment in the next five years.

"We have lined up new projects that are designed to raise annual petrochemical output capacity to 150 million tons. They are estimated to cost at least $55 billion," said the official.

Shahdaei said attracting foreign investment is a top priority to expand the petrochemical sector, the most important industry after oil and gas.

Data shows that Iran sits on the world's fourth-largest oil reserves and the second-largest natural gas reserves, holding 34 trillion cubic meters of gas and more than 150 billion barrels of proven oil reserves.

The country draws most of its hydrocarbon deposits from southern and southwestern areas and plans to turn the region into a hotspot for producing an array of petrochemicals that yield higher profit compared to selling crude oil and gas.

 

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