TEHRAN – National Petrochemical Company (NPC)’s Director of Planning and Development Hassan Abbaszedeh has said the implementation of 33 new pioneering projects is going to add 22 new products to the country’s petrochemical products basket.

Speaking in a press conference on Monday, Abbaszadeh said: “The petrochemical industry is the most important link in the oil industry’s value chain that prevents crude sales, completes the chain, and creates value from hydrocarbon resources.”

According to the official, there are currently 67 active petrochemical complexes in the country, of which three are utility plants.

“Last year, these complexes received about 40 million tons (equivalent to 992,000 barrels of crude oil per day) of feed from the upstream sector from which about 35 million tons of final product was produced,” he said.

He further noted that 25 million tons of the mentioned products were exported and about 10 million tons were supplied domestically.

The official pointed out that 48 development projects are being implemented under the framework of the second and third leaps of the petrochemical industry, noting that these projects will increase the industry's capacity by 45 million tons and require $30 billion of investment to be completed.

“So far $8 billion has been spent on the mentioned projects, and the rest will be supplied in the coming years,” he added.

The NPC planning and development director further stated that 11 projects have remained for the second leap of the petrochemical industry to be realized, and with the completion of these projects the capacity of this industry will increase by 10 million to reach 100 million tons.

According to Abbszadeh, the third leap of the petrochemical industry includes 38 projects which will be completed by the Iranian calendar year 1404 (March 2026).

The petrochemical industry plays a crucial role in Iran’s non-oil economy, as the petrochemical export is the second-largest source of revenue for the country after crude oil. Petrochemical exports already constitute nearly 33 percent of the country’s non-oil exports.

EF/MA