Tehran, Iran, Oct. 11
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran's total petrochemical production is expected to reach 44 million metric tons by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2015).
Ali Mohammad Bosaqzadeh, an official with the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) said the country's nominal production capacity is 54 million metric tons, ISNA news agency reported.
"Iran's total petrochemical output capacity stood at 42.5 million metric tons in the previous year," he explained.
"We are not using about 10 million metric tons of our production capacity," the official said, blaming feed shortage and lack of storage capacity for the issue.
"After the international sanctions imposed on the petrochemical industry, we faced several problems in transportation and exports so the storage facilities are full," he explained.
"The sanctions were eased to some extent and the banking and transportation problems are partly solved, so the petrochemical complexes have managed to buy ships to continue their exports," he noted.
Iran will launch 6 new petrochemical complexes by the end of the current calendar year (March 20, 2015).
Once the projects come on stream, the country's total petrochemical production capacity will increase by 2 million metric tons, Mehr news agency reported Oct. 5.
Takht-e Jamshid PVC production unit, the second phase of Kavian Petrochemical Complex, the second phase of Karoun Petrochemical Complex, Mahabad Petrochemical Complex, Hegmataneh Petrochemical Complex, and Lorestan Petrochemical Complex are the mentioned projects.
According to Deputy Director of National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Mohammad Hassan Peyvandi, the NPC has requested the Iranian government to allocate $5-10 billion out of the National Development Fund to finish the incomplete petrochemical projects.
"The money will be allocated to projects that are more than 60 percent complete," he said, IRNA reported.
Iranian ISNA news agency said Sept. 29 that 8 methanol-producing units will come on stream in Iran in the next five years.
Peyvandi said the units will have the capacity to produce 19 million metric tons per year.
"Once the units come on stream, Iran will become one of the world's biggest methanol producers," Peyvandi explained.
"This will send a great shock to the global market," he said, adding that Iran's current methanol production rate stands at 5 million metric tons per year.
Marzieh Shahedaee, an official with the NPC, said Sept. 28 that there are ten incomplete petrochemical projects in Iran that will come on stream by the end of the next calendar year (March 20, 2016).