Speaking to Shana, Ali Mohammad Bossaghzadeh, the director in charge of projects at the National Petrochemical Company (NPC), said some 30 projects in the petrochemical sector are currently under construction throughout the country with the aim of completing the petrochemical value-chain.
More than half of the projects are based near the southern strategic port of Chabahar near the Sea of Oman and on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf.
“Completion of the petrochemical value-chain is one of the main policies of the National Petrochemical Company, and this issue has become more prominent in recent years,” the official said.
He added that in line with this policy, NPC is trying to diversify products in new projects and make sure there is a production chain for end-user items.
Moreover, the official added that 10 propane dehydrogenation (PDH) units to convert natural gas to propane and polypropylene were being built in Assaluyeh and Mahshahr, in southern and southwestern parts of the country, respectively.
NPC’s projects director further added that many of the projects, including Lordegan Petrochemical Unit, Olefin Project in Ilam, Miandoab Petrochemical Plant, Kaveh Methanol Unit and Phase 1 of Bushehr Petrochemical Plant are over 90% complete.
The development of such projects are vital for fulfilling Iran's desire to expand the petrochemical industry.
Petrochemicals accounted for 34.7% of Iran’s non-oil exports in the last Iranian year (ended March 2018). The industry has achieved continuous growth in the past five years, such that petrochemical complexes have increased from 43 plants to 53, installed capacity has reached 64.9 million tons per annum from 59.8 million tons.
According to data released by NPC, Iran exported 15.451 million tons of petrochemical and polymer products $7.435 billion worth in the first six months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Sept. 22). the figures indicate 9.44% and 23.98% growth in terms of volume and value, respectively, compared to the same period of last year.
SHANA/MNA