TEHRAN – Iran’s petrochemical production in the first month of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-April 20) increased by seven percent compared to the same month in the previous year, an official with the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) announced.

The country’s petrochemical complexes produced 5.5 million tons of products in the mentioned month, according to Jalal Mirhashemi, NPC’s production control manager.

Mentioning the current year’s motto which is “Production: Support and Elimination of Obstacles”, Mirhashemi noted that the Iranian petrochemical industry is ready to achieve the goals of production growth in the current year.

“All conditions and infrastructure have been provided to achieve a leap in production in the Iranian petrochemical industry in the current year; with the measures taken this year, the idle production capacities of some existing complexes will also be revived,” he said.

He pointed to the full observance of health protocols and safety instructions in petrochemical complexes, saying that petrochemical units have always complied with safety requirements and also helped to produce raw materials needed by the healthcare sector.

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.

According to Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, the country is currently producing nearly 70 million tons of petrochemical products annually and by the end of the industry’s second development leap, the country’s petrochemical production capacity is projected to reach 100 million tons per year.

The minister has pointed to the diversification of products, greater use of liquid feedstock, and land preparation, as some of the important factors to be taken into account for the future development of the petrochemical industry, and said: “In this industry, great work has been done in creating knowledge, indigenizing technologies, and cooperation with universities.”

The production capacity of Iran’s petrochemical industry is expected to be increased from 100 million tons to 133 million tons at the end of the third leap.

EF/MA