Iran plans to boost annual petrochemical production by 50-60 million tonsover the next five years, raising total output capacity to around 120 million tons per year from around 60 million tons at present.
Farnaz Alavi, a member of the board of the state-run National Petrochemical Company, was quoted as saying by Shana on Sunday.
“To implement new petrochemical projects in the sixth five-year economic development plan (2016-21), an estimated $35 billion in investment has been planned from diverse financial sources,” Alavi said.
According to the official, 28 major petrochemical projects are lined up to go on stream by 2021 and should be funded through foreign direct investment.
She added it is up to Iranian companies and contractors to partner with foreign investors and open credit lines for project financing.
Iran aims to produce more than 40% of the Middle East’s total petrochemical output by 2021, and become the largest petrochemical producer in the region in 10 years.
Iran’s petrochemical output in the last Iranian year that ended in March accounted for nearly 25% of total Mideast production.
During a conference in Tehran in December, Iran announced plans to attract $70 billion in petrochemical investment to develop the industry in the post-sanctions era.
Tehran has set an ambitious petrochemical production target of 180milliontonsa year, nearly three times the current level, by 2025.
Iran is offering subsidized energy, tax exemptions in energy zones and an 80-million-strong market as incentives for attracting multinationals to invest in the lucrative petrochemical projects.
Iran sits on the world’s largest natural gas reserves and the fourth-largest crude reserves, holding 34 trillion cubic meters of gas and 158 billion barrels of proven oil reserves.
