Hossein Alimorad, director of planning and development at
the National Petrochemical Company (NPC), said 66 new projects are expected to
raise nominal production capacity from 96.6 million tonnes to 131.5 million
tonnes by the end of the plan.
“The focus is not only on expanding capacity but also on
completing the value chain in methanol, ethylene, propylene and aromatics,”
Alimorad told NIPNA. The strategy seeks to reduce reliance on exports of basic
petrochemical products by shifting towards higher value-added goods, he said.
Alimorad noted that between 15 and 19 projects are due to
start operations by the end of this year, out of 28 priority projects being
closely monitored by NPC. The total investment for the 66 projects is estimated
at $26 billion, with an average physical progress of around 60%.
The plan is aligned with the government’s target of
achieving 8% annual economic growth. Alimorad said efficiency gains of 1.5 to 2
percentage points could be added through better utilisation of existing
capacity, provided constraints on feedstock and equipment supply are addressed.
Iran currently operates 73 petrochemical complexes. Last
year, actual output reached 75 million tonnes against a nominal capacity of
96.6 million tonnes, reflecting a 78% utilisation rate. Around 70% of the 21
million tonnes in lost output was due to feedstock shortages, according to NPC
data.
Despite U.S. sanctions, petrochemical exports remain a key
source of foreign currency for Iran. More than 29 million tonnes of
petrochemical products, mostly basic chemicals, were exported last year,
generating over $13 billion in revenues, Alimorad said.
He added that new projects include 11.6 million tonnes of
additional propylene capacity, 700,000 tonnes in methanol derivatives, 3.3
million tonnes in ethylene derivatives (excluding polyethylene), and 8.6
million tonnes of polyethylene by 2028.
Iran is currently the second-largest petrochemical producer
in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia, with about 2.5% of global output. NPC
expects the share to rise above 4% by the end of the seventh plan.