Hassan Abbaszadeh, deputy petroleum minister and chief executive of
NPC, said the industry now underpins more than 15,000 small and medium-sized
downstream enterprises, supplying raw materials to domestic manufacturing and
agriculture while remaining the country’s largest non-oil source of foreign
currency earnings.
“The development of downstream industries and meeting domestic demand
is one of the most enduring achievements of Iran’s petrochemical sector,”
Abbaszadeh said in an interview with Iran newspaper. “This has created
thousands of businesses and strengthened industrial value creation inside the
country.”
Iran’s petrochemical industry, one of the few sectors to expand under
prolonged sanctions, has evolved from basic commodity production to more
complex and higher value-added products, he said. The next strategic priority
is to reduce exports of semi-raw materials by completing production chains over
the next decade.
According to Abbaszadeh, the sector currently supplies around $13
billion worth of products annually to domestic industries and agriculture,
while about 70% of total output is exported. Despite international
restrictions, petrochemical exports generate nearly $15 billion a year in
foreign currency, which is channelled through the central bank to support the
wider economy.
He acknowledged that roughly $2 billion of industrial demand is still
met through imports, but said the government has identified the relevant
product chains and introduced investors to accelerate domestic production and
close the gap.
Abbaszadeh said a series of strategic decisions over past decades had
shaped the industry’s trajectory, including the continuation of the Bandar Imam
petrochemical complex after foreign partners withdrew during the Iran-Iraq war,
the development of the Mahshahr petrochemical hub based on liquid feedstock,
and the creation of the Assaluyeh gas-based petrochemical zone linked to South
Pars.
He said using shared gas resources to produce export-oriented products
such as methanol, ammonia and urea generated far greater value than alternative
options such as raw gas exports, helping Iran capture revenue that might
otherwise have gone to regional competitors.
Sanctions, while disruptive, have also accelerated domestic
technological capability, Abbaszadeh said, citing the localisation of catalysts
and equipment once seen as critical vulnerabilities. Iran has now become an
exporter of certain catalysts, he added.
Looking ahead, Abbaszadeh said younger managers would play a decisive
role as experienced executives retire, urging them to combine innovation with a
deep understanding of the industry’s strategic importance.
“The future of the petrochemical sector depends on informed
decision-making, investment in human capital and completing the value chain,”
he said. “This is the path to resilient growth.”