TEHRAN – The head of Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) said $4.2 billion will be invested in domestic projects to improve self-sufficiency and complete the industry’s value chain, Shana reported.

“In addition to identifying opportunities and offering projects for investment, NPC has conducted a thorough study on the petrochemical industry’s value chain, launching 20 project packages for producing propylene, methanol, ethylene, aromatics, and butylene,” Morteza Shahmirzaei said on Thursday.

He put the projects’ annual nominal capacity and production value at 3.8 million tons and $4.4 billion.

Based on their access to necessary feedstock, domestic holdings have been informed of the projects, said Shahmirzaei, concluding some holdings have received permits for making investments in the projects.

The petrochemical industry plays a crucial role in Iran’s non-oil economy, as 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.

According to NPC Head Morteza Shah-Mirzaei, the company plans to increase its annual petrochemical production capacity to 200 million tons over the next 10 years.

In this regard, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oji said that more than 100 petrochemical projects with a total investment of about $70 billion have been defined and will be implemented across the country.

Oji noted that the country will also be completely self-sufficient in producing the catalysts used in the petrochemical industry by the end of the current government administration's incumbency (August 2025).

EF/MA