The 15th Iran Plast International Exhibition will be held on Feb. 7-10 at the Tehran International Exhibition Center with the participation of 420 local and foreign companies, managing director of the National Petrochemical Company said.
“The exhibition will be held in full compliance with health protocols and instructions. Iran Plast is a great and unique opportunity in the Middle East, which showcases the latest events and up-to-date capabilities of the polymer, plastics and related industries,” the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana quoted Morteza Shah-Mirzaei as saying.
The exhibition will focus on petrochemicals, semi-finished petrochem products, technical, engineering and export services, as well as knowledge-based companies.
According to the National Petrochemical Company, the expo seeks to provide a basis for the prosperity of the domestic plastics industry market and facilitate the global marketing process and help promote the industry in international markets.
One of the largest plastic industry events in the Middle East, the exhibition is classified among the most prestigious plastic industry exhibitions in the world.
A statistical look at the last 14 editions of Iran Plast International Exhibition shows that the event has overcome all the problems and issues related to sanctions and the global outbreak of Covid-19 virus.
Domestic Petrochem Capacity, Output
Speaking about the status of the petrochemical industry inside the country, the NPC chief said, “Currently, 68 petrochemical complexes have a production capacity of about 90 million tons per year. However, they produce 65 million tons of products, of which 25 million tons are used as feedstock by the complexes, 10 million tons are sold to other domestic companies and 30 million tons are exported.”
Referring to completing the value chain as NPC’s strategy, Shah-Mirzaei said, “We should move away from selling raw materials and move toward the production of value-added products and expansion of downstream industries.”
“Estimates show that in the next five years, demand for petrochemical products in the world will grow by 4.5%,” he said.
In order to answer the growing demand of petrochemicals in the country, several projects are underway in Iran to increase the current petrochemical output capacity to around 130 million tons per year in five years.
More than 30 projects have been devised in this regard, which will need an investment of $30 billion.
Almost 60% of the petrochemical projects are in Asalouyeh and Mahshahr in southern and southwestern Iran and the rest are scattered in other regions.
The petrochemical industry produces 330 grades of petrochemical products as well as 40 types of chemicals.
Based on NPC’s data, more than 32 million tons of petrochemical products were produced in the first half of the current fiscal year (March-September 2021), which was 8% higher than the output in the same period of 2020.
As several projects are underway to increase petrochemical output, Iran’s annual revenues from the industry is expected to grow by 230% in the next five years and reach $50 billion by 2027. Iran exported around $15 billion worth of petrochemicals in 2020.
Besides boosting production, Iran is striving to indigenize equipment and parts used in the key industry.
After the US imposed new sanctions in May 2018, the sector started facing problems regarding the production of certain petrochemicals. However, companies started collaborations with domestic engineers and knowledge-based firms to indigenize parts and equipment.
Last February, 70 contracts worth $300 million were signed with knowledge-based companies to accelerate the indigenization process.
The petrochemical industry has played a key role in domestic economic growth, as it creates value-added and reduces the sale of oil and gas on which the economy has been dependent for decades.
