TEHRAN- The value of Iran’s petrochemical export increased 38 percent in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22), from the same period of time in the past year, the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.

Ruhollah Latifi said that Iran has exported 16.554 million tons of petrochemical products worth $9.142 million in the five-month period of this year.

He said while the export rose 38 percent in value, it fell 12.6 percent in weight.

Petrochemicals accounted for 44 percent of the worth and 38 percent of the weight of Iran’s non-oil export in the first five months of the present year, the official stated.

Last week, the managing director of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) announced that Iran’s annual export of petrochemicals is expected to reach $18 billion in the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20, 2023).

Morteza Shahmirzaei said that currently, the petrochemical sector has the highest added value in the oil industry chain.

The official further put the country’s annual petrochemical production capacity at 90 million tons.

“Some products were not considered in the previous periods and we were faced with their import at the cost of five billion dollars”, he said, adding, “The products of the propylene chain are of special importance and include 70 percent of the total petrochemical imports. To reduce the dependency, the petrochemical company has focused on the development of value chain projects.”

He went on to say that supply of propylene is important for the supply of feed for this chain, and currently, the production capacity of propylene is one million tons per year, and the country's need is more than this amount.

The official explained that 95 percent of propylene produced in the country is used for the production of polypropylene and five percent is used in other sectors. On a global scale last year, 68 percent was in polypropylene and 32 percent in other sectors, so Iran's consumption pattern is different from the world’s pattern.

In the petrochemical industry’s 10-year strategic outlook plan, 35 projects with a nominal capacity of 13 million tons per year for the production of propylene are predicted, which will increase the production capacity of propylene to 14 million tons, of which 11 million tons will be consumed in polypropylene and three million tons in other sectors, Shahmirzaei announced.

Back in mid-May, the official had said that Iran exported petrochemical products valued at more than $15 billion in the past Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20).

He said that of the mentioned $15 billion petchem revenues, over $12.5 billion was injected into the Forex Management Integrated System, locally known as NIMA.

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.

The NPC’s managing director further stressed that the petrochemical industry is a value and job-creating industry, which has no risk.

The official said that 69 production units (including three service units that provide services such as water, electricity, and steam for production units) are now active in the petrochemical industry of Iran, which plays a significant role in bringing foreign currency to the country.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Shahmirzaei stressed that domestic production should be realized in all sectors of the petrochemical industry.

A small part is still remaining so that this target will be achieved, he added.

Petrochemical Research and Technology Company and Research Institute of Petroleum Industry in addition to the other related institutes and centers are taking all efforts in this due, the official added.

He mentioned the West Eslam-Abad petrochemical project as one of the projects that all of its parts will be domestically produced.

“We should apply five technical knowledge for this project, which require some special preciseness and effort”, Shahmirzaei noted.

MA/MA