TEHRAN – The head of Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) has said 95 percent of the catalysts used in the country’s oil industry are produced by domestic companies, Mehr News Agency reported.

Speaking at the fifth meeting of the Supreme Council of the Petrochemical Industry’s Social Responsibility on Thursday, Morteza Shahmirzaei said in terms of weight, 98 percent of the petrochemical industry catalysts are made inside the country.

He put the country’s current petrochemical production capacity at 92 million tons, saying: “Today, all operations regarding the design, implementation, pre-commissioning, and repairs of petrochemical complexes are carried out by domestic companies and through Iranian suppliers and manufacturers, and we are no longer dependent on foreign countries.”

Mentioning the current government administration’s foreign policies, Shahmirzaei said: “A very favorable opportunity has arisen to expand cooperation with neighboring and friendly countries, and relations with these countries are expanding in different dimensions.”

Back in 2022, NPC unveiled a comprehensive roadmap for the development of the petrochemical industry’s catalyst sector on the sidelines of the 16th International Exhibition of Plastic, Rubber, Machinery, and Equipment (IRAN PLAST).

The unveiling ceremony was attended by senior officials including Shahmirzaei, Head of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Majid Chegeni, and Managing Director of Iran's Petrochemical Research and Technology Company (PRTC) Majid Daftari.

Speaking at the ceremony, Daftari noted that the mentioned roadmap was created by PRTC in collaboration with domestic knowledge-based companies and scientific centers over the past year.

Stating that technical knowledge is the driving force in the petrochemical industry, the official said: “There are currently 99 types of catalysts, absorbers, and initiators used in the country's petrochemical industry among which we have so far been able to localize and produce 88 catalysts.”

“Due to the updating of the country's catalyst document, the knowledge for the production of the rest of the catalysts will also be localized by the end of the 13th government administration,” he said.

Daftari pointed out that the petrochemical industry is 98 percent self-sufficient in the field of catalysts saying that the remaining two percent should be localized within the next three years.

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.

The official has previously said that completing the value chain is not a motto, while it is a top agenda of the NPC’s activities, it is a program and a duty.

Referring to the rapid development of the petrochemical industry from basic products to the end of the value chain in the 13th government, Morteza Shah-Mirzaei reiterated: "Completing the value chain of the petrochemical industry is not a slogan; As an inviolable strategy, it is a task, plan and duty that my colleagues are following up with all their efforts.”

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 NPC head announced.

Stating that Iran's petrochemical industry exported more than 16 billion dollars of petrochemical products to the world markets last year, he added that the products supplied to the world markets are in excess of the domestic demand, because the priority of the petrochemical industry is to meet the domestic needs in order to complete the value chain.

He pointed to the development of energy diplomacy in the 13th government and said the activity program in offshore petrochemical industries is being followed seriously and good successes have been achieved in this regard. With the expansion of relations with neighboring and aligned countries, other countries have demanded the supply of catalysts, equipment and machinery from Iran.

EF/MA