Hassan Abbaszadeh said the credit supply, provided from March through
late September, was expected to exceed last year’s total of 1.22 quadrillion
rials by year-end, reflecting continued efforts to support downstream
manufacturing.
Speaking on the sidelines of the first Petrochemical Industry
Investors Conference in Tehran, Abbaszadeh said Iran’s petrochemical export
plan for the year ending March 2026 stood at about $13 billion and expressed
confidence the target would be met.
He added that more than 98% of foreign currency revenues generated by
petrochemical companies had been repatriated to the domestic economy, with the
remaining portion returned within an 80-day regulatory window under strict
supervision.
“Since 2018, there have been no major issues regarding currency
repatriation, and performance this year has improved compared with last year,”
Abbaszadeh said.
He said urea had been removed from the list of semi-raw products
subject to export duties, while levies on other products such as polypropylene
and PVC had been reduced following industry consultations, as part of efforts
to encourage value-chain development.
Abbaszadeh also provided an update on Iran’s first propane
dehydrogenation (PDH) project, saying the Salman Farsi PDH unit had achieved
more than 90% physical progress and was expected to enter production by June
next year.
He said other PDH and propane-based projects, including Alay-e
Mahestan, Hirsa Polymer Sahand, Pars Petrochemical PDH and Bidboland Persian
Gulf, as well as units at Jam Petrochemical and Petro-Pardis Sina, were
advancing steadily.
Abbaszadeh said developing downstream industries and value chains was
a key objective of Iran’s seventh national development plan, adding that
feasibility studies were being made available to private investors to
facilitate project execution.
On foreign exchange policy, he said discussions were under way with
the central bank to encourage petrochemical firms exceeding export targets to
sell surplus foreign currency in Iran’s secondary FX market, alongside
companies investing in flare gas recovery and energy efficiency projects.
He said major petrochemical projects scheduled to come on stream by
the end of the year included the olefin and monoethylene glycol units at
Bushehr Petrochemical, as well as polyethylene and olefin units at the Kangan
petro-refinery complex.
Abbaszadeh added that winter gas supply constraints for petrochemical
plants had been milder so far this year due to delayed cold weather and
improved liquid fuel storage, though some facilities were experiencing managed,
rotational curtailments.
“We hope gas restrictions this winter will be less severe than last
year,” he said.