Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 21
By Fatih Karimov- Trend:
Iran's National Development Fund (NDF) has allocated about $6 billion for implementing petrochemical and refinery plans in the current year, Amir-Hassan Fallah, deputy for finance and investment development at the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) said.
Currently LC (line of credit) is opened for some petrochemical projects, Fallah said, Iran's SHANA news agency reported Dec. 21.
Foreign investors from various countries including Japan, India and South Korea have expressed readiness to participate in Iran's petrochemical projects.
For instance, the Japanese companies are keen to invest in utility plants as well as olefin and ammonia projects and Indians plan to participate in urea production projects, he said.
Meanwhile, South Korean companies are also looking to invest in fuel, Fallah said.
Iran's petrochemical industry needs $10 billion worth of investment per year, he said, adding foreign investment is vital for the industry's development as domestic banks are not able to provide the needed assets.
The country's petrochemical output is expected to hit 47 million tons during the current fiscal year (March 2015, March 2016).
Iran's petrochemical output hit 44.4 million tons in the last Iranian fiscal year, 10 percent more year-on-year.
The country's actual production capacity is around 60 million tons, but the shortage of natural gas as feedstock, old production units, and the problem of sanctions, which has dropped exports, have caused petrochemical complexes to work at lower capacities.