Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.7 / Trend F.Milad /
Many countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, have announced readiness to invest in Iran's petrochemical sector, the deputy Iranian oil minister said.
Gholam-Hossein Bayat told the ISNA News agency that negotiations have been held with a number of countries.
He rejected rumors about stopping exports of some petrochemical products to Europe, saying that Iran is currently exporting petrochemical products in large scale to the EU states. Sanctions have not affected the exports of oil products, Bayat added.
Petrochemical exports from Iran to Asian markets have been rising due to the increasing demand as well as lower transportation costs compared to other destinations, Bayat said on Saturday.
He told the Mehr News Agency that despite global sanctions, petrochemical exports to Asian markets have increased by 30 percent in weight and 10 percent in value in the current year.
He added that the national petrochemical output is projected to be boosted by 5-5.5 million by the end of the current year.
On July 2, the Shana News Agency quoted Bayat as saying that there is no problem to sell petrochemical products both in domestic and in foreign markets.
Bayat said that Iran plans to increase petrochemical output by 5 million tons to 49 million tons in the current calendar year, which ends on March 20.
He added that nine petrochemical projects will be implemented in the current year which will boost the country's output by 5 million tons.