Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 23
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran plans to increase petrochemical output capacity by almost 6 million tons by March 2017, Marzieh Shahdaee, Iranian deputy oil minister, said April 23.
Shahdaee, who heads Iran's National Petrochemical Company (NPC), said that the country's current output capacity stands at 60 million tons per year, while it was 46 million tons during the last fiscal year(ended March 20), the oil ministry's SHANA news agency reported.
She expressed hope that the production would be increased after the inauguration of new petrochemical units, as well as new phases of South Pars fields which will lead to increase of petrochemical feedstock.
Currently, 55 petrochemical projects are underway, she said, adding that 28 new projects are also under study.
Shahdaee further said that Iran's petrochemical production capacity is planned to reach 160 million tons per year in next 10 years.
Iran currently produces $20 billion worth of petrochemicals per year and the figure will be doubled by 2021, according to the Iranian oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh.
Petrochemical plants in Iran had to work below the actual production capacity due to the shortage of natural gas as feedstock, old production units and the sanctions, which has caused a decline in exports.
Iran's petrochemical exports reached 19 million tons, worth $9.5 billion in the last fiscal year (ended March 20).