TEHRAN – Iran’s petrochemical sector is forecast to see an output surge to 47 million tons by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (started from March 21).

Realization of the new capacity will be boosted by ethane production increases from phases 15 and 16 of South Pars gas field, the SHANA News Agency quoted from Ali-Mohammad Basaqzadeh, the control manager of Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC).

In the past three months, ethane from the phases was only intermittently fed into petrochemical complexes.

However, recently ethane output from the phases has augmented to 10 tons per hour. The hourly delivery of Ethan is foreseen to pick up to 70 tons by the yearend.

Also, petrochemical complexes are anticipated to take their first ethane deliveries from phases 17 and 18 of South Pars gas field by the end of Iranian ninth calendar month of Azar (November 22-December 22).

What all these figure indicate is that there would be no shortage of petrochemical feed stocks this year for the country’s petrochemical industry.

The bullish estimate for the petrochemical sector is likely to bear out as the overhauling of petrochemical plants seems to be at a rapid clip with 70 percent of the way already taken.

In addition, there is the expectation that 81 percent of the petrochemical output nominally comes on stream, up 9 percent in the year-on-year growth rate.

Iran’s export of petrochemicals hit 2.48 million tons in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21).

The year-end hike once phases 15, 16, 17, and 18 of the South Pars gas field come on stream is expected to swell revenue from the sector up to $2 billion.

AK