Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 2
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran averagely delivered 43 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas to its petrochemical plants on a daily basis during the first 10 months of the current Iranian fiscal year (March 21, 2015 - Jan. 20, 2016), an oil ministry official said.
"The figure indicates an increase by three million cubic meters compared to the same period of preceding year," Hamidreza Araqi, Iran's deputy oil minister said Feb. 2, the ministry's official SHANA news agency reported.
This figure also includes the gas which was used as feedstock and fuel.
Iranian petrochemical plants used 37 million cubic meters of gas as feedstock per day during the last fiscal year, which ended in March 2015.
Iran's petrochemical output hit 44.4 million tons in the past Iranian fiscal year, 10 percent more year-on-year. Petrochemical complexes in Iran had to work below the actual production capacity due to the shortage of natural gas as feedstock, old production units, and the problem of sanctions, which has caused a decline in exports.
The output is expected to remain unchanged this fiscal year (to end March 2016), meanwhile it is forecasted that the actual petrochemical production level will reach 52 million tons the next fiscal year.
The country's petrochemical output capacity currently stands at 60 million tons. The Islamic Republic hopes to bring this capacity to 120 million tons by 2020 and 180 million tons by 2025.
Araqi further said that Iran currently delivers the feedstock gas to petrochemical plants for 11 cents per cubic meter. Meanwhile, the plants pay four cents for each cubic meter of fuel gas.
Iran has decreased the feedstock gas price for petrochemical plants to eight cents per cubic meter.
Araqi added that the new price will come into force in March 2016.