Addressing the 13th Iran Petrochemical Forum (IPF-2017) here in Tehran on Saturday, Shahdaei said last calendar year proved a successful year for the industry as the annual production capacity of the country reached 62 million tons and export of petrochemicals reached 21 million tons valued at $9.4b.
Iran launched 11 projects valued at $3.4 b during the previous year which ended on March 20, she said, adding 7 other projects with $9b of investment will come on-stream this year bringing Iran's total petrochemical production capacity to 72 mt/y.
Marziyeh Shahdaei, who is also deputy petroleum minister in petrochemical affairs, further added that 30 other projects with in investment of 40 billion dollars have been defined under the 6th five-year development plan of the country.
The NPC has held the forum at IRIB Int'l Conference Center in Tehran, Iran. The petrochemical industry is becoming more and more an indispensable and an integral part of human progress and growth.
The industry, however, is facing a number of pressing issues and challenges. IPF-2017 focuses on some of these challenges and needs including sustainable use of hydrocarbon resources, shortage of feedstock especially natural gas, competitive solutions and state-of-the-art technologies to maximize returns and to diversify and enrich value chain.
The two-day forum also discusses the advantages and potentials of developing Iran’s petrochemical industry, exploring ways and means of expanding the industry’s mid- and down-stream sectors via joint venture alliances and attraction of international finances, utilizing domestic and international capabilities for developing and transferring advanced technologies, completing value chains, increasing value-added and developing new hubs with the aim of reaching an annual output capacity of 120 million tons by 2020 and 180 million tons by 2025.