Speaking to reporters after a meeting with petrochemical industry
executives to mark National Petrochemical Industry Day, Petroleum Minister
Mohsen Paknejad described the sector as a major economic driver, playing a
vital role in foreign currency earnings, employment and value-chain
development.
“Given the importance of the petrochemical industry, its challenges
must be addressed within the regulatory framework of the National Petrochemical
Company,” Paknejad said, adding that a joint working group would be formed to
follow up on issues raised by industry participants.
He said some concerns, including feedstock pricing and supply
mechanisms, could be addressed within the petroleum ministry, while others
would be escalated to the broader government following review by the working
group.
Paknejad said uncertainty over feedstock pricing and volumes remained
a key concern for petrochemical producers, particularly amid energy imbalances
that have forced supply management during colder months.
“One of the solutions to addressing the energy imbalance is the
participation of petrochemical companies in gas field development,” he said.
“This approach can help secure their feedstock supply and has been welcomed by
the industry.”
On pricing, Paknejad said concerns had been raised over feedstock
pricing formulas, which would be reviewed in expert-level discussions.
He stressed that long-term profitability in the petrochemical sector
could not rely solely on preferential feedstock pricing.
“Supporting the industry must enable companies to compete effectively
in global markets, but reliance solely on price rents is not a defensible
approach,” he said.
Paknejad also said upstream gas production had increased this year,
noting that new capacity of 5–6 million cubic metres per day from onshore gas
fields such as Khartang and Tous would come online within weeks. Additional
offshore drilling had also begun to add incremental capacity, which he said
could help partially ease current energy imbalances.