BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 28
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
Iran should focus more on developing its petrochemical sector and sell its products, rather than crude oil, in terms of more revenues, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji said, Trend reports citing Shana News Agency.
He made the remark in an event dedicated to the Day of Petrochemical Industry in Iran on Dec. 28, 2021.
Owji stressed that there are currently 67 petrochemical enterprises in Iran, which produce valuable products. He went on to add that demand for petrochemical products at the world markets has already increased significantly.
Accordingly, if Iran invests any amount in the petrochemical sector, it is still small, he said.
“At present, there is no better sector to invest in than the petrochemical sector. More than 15,000 industrial enterprises in the country use the products of petrochemical enterprises," he said.
Owji noted that there are currently 600 million cubic meters of gas daily consumed in Iran’s household sector. However, the petrochemical sector consumes 80 million cubic meters of gas per day and produces valuable products.
“Petrochemical enterprises have sold $9 billion of export earnings to Iranian banks under the NIMA exchange rate since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2021). The figure is expected to reach $12 billion by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2022),” he said.
Within the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21 through December 21, 2021), Iran exported 42.4 million tons of petrochemical products worth $14.7 billion, which accounted for 42 percent of Iran’s total exports in value and 46 percent in volume for the reporting period.
Iran is planning to export 33 million tons of petrochemical products worth $14.2 billion in the current Iranian year (from March 21, 2021, through March 20, 2022). It is planned to produce 43 million tons of final products in the current Iranian year. About 10 million tons of it will be consumed in the country. In general, the revenues of the petrochemical industry will amount to $21.5 billion this year.
Starting from the second half of the next Iranian year (August 23, 2022), 39 petrochemical facilities are to be put into operation in the petrochemical sector of Iran. In total, 50 facilities are to be put into operation in the next 5 years (until March 20, 2026). Of these, 3 facilities are related to production of mixed fuels, 11 facilities – propylene, and 33 are development facilities.
Iran's annual petrochemical production potential will increase to 136 million tons in five years, and to 167 million tons with the implementation of strategic plans.
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