TEHRAN - The head of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) said the country’s petrochemical production capacity will top 100 million tons by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2025).

Planning is underway to launch 15 small- and large-scale petrochemical projects in the country, according to which, the total number of Iran's petrochemical production units will reach about 80, Morteza Shahmirzaei noted.

With the coordination made in this regard, the petrochemical production capacity will cross 100 million tons by the end of the current year,  the NPC chief added.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 28th Iran International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition dubbed “Iran Oil Show 2024”, he said that industrial and production units are prepared to materialize the objectives of the current year’s motto of “Production Jump” in the petrochemical sector.

The deputy oil minister added that today, the petrochemical industry tries to invest heavily in the upstream sector to provide its feedstock sustainably.

Moving towards indigenizing the petrochemical requirements should be put on the agenda of the holdings and petrochemical complexes, Shahmirzaei emphasized.

Iran's petrochemical industry accounts for 28 percent of the region's petrochemical capacity and 2.7 percent of the world's petrochemical capacity.

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 Shahmirzaei, 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).

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