Addressing a
meeting with producers of catalysts on Monday, Behzad Mohammadi said: The valued
activities of the companies active in the field of catalyst production are not unknown
to anyone, and the measures taken to provide catalysts for petrochemical
complexes can accelerate the development of this value-added industry.
He said knowledge-based
companies and start-ups have made great strides in recent years and “we should
work especially hard in the field of catalysts to achieve self-sufficiency in
the field.”
"The
petrochemical industry is more sophisticated than the oil and gas
industries," he said, adding according to world figures, growth in
production and consumption of petroleum products in the world is projected to
be around 1.3 percent by 2030, while the figure is around 3 to 3.5 percent for
the petrochemical industry which means the sector’s growth will be three times
more than the petroleum industry by 2030.
The NPC CEO further
underlined the production of 90 types of polymeric, chemical and hydrocarbon
products, adding currently 20 types of polymers were being produced in Iran and
sold on the stock market.
Noting the
existence of a $33.5 billion catalyst market in the world, he said 54% of the
catalysts in the global market are petrochemical and refining ones with a value
of $18 billion; Iran’s share in this market is 400 million dollars which is
2.2% of the global market.
According to
Mohammadi, who is also the deputy petroleum minister for petrochemical affairs,
production and localization of catalysts in the country could prevent importing
them adding to the country's revenues as well as the resilience of the industry.
Currently,
18 companies are operating in the field of catalyst production in Iran, he
said, adding: “From 40 catalyst groups in the petrochemical industry, 16 groups
have been commercialized and localized in the country and 9 other catalyst
groups will be produced locally by 2021 with the support of Iranian producers.”
There are
currently 54 production complexes with a capacity of 66 million tons per year
in Iran. Once 27 petrochemical projects come on stream by 2021, the number of
active petrochemical plants in Iran will reach 83 with 100 mt/y of production
capacity, the NPC CEO added.
He also
predicted that based on the plans envisaged by NPC, Iran’s petrochemical
production capacity will reach 133 mt/y by 2025.