Mohammad Shariatmadari, CEO of Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Co. (PGPIC), told the 33rd National Petrochemical CEOs meeting that fragmented privatization had “shattered the integrated value chain,” leaving the industry without a reliable long-term plan. He urged companies and policymakers to jointly draft a national roadmap to guide investment, innovation and competitiveness.
Shariatmadari identified three priorities: securing long-term feedstock contracts, establishing sustainable financial mechanisms, and accelerating digital transformation. He proposed creating a joint “Chemical Industries Development Fund” to pool resources from over 90 petrochemical companies for financing expansion projects.
He warned that many Iranian plants are decades old and urgently need modernization, while repeated winter gas cuts, financial bottlenecks, and sanctions-related import delays have undermined production. “Without decisive reforms, much of Iran’s petrochemical capacity risks becoming idle,” he said, comparing Iran’s lagging industrial output with countries like Egypt, which he said achieves higher value-added with fewer resources.
PGPIC, which groups dozens of production units across Iran, is the Middle East’s largest petrochemical holding by output.