Farhad Shahriaki, deputy chairman of the Iranian parliament’s Energy
Commission, said parliament supports the petrochemical industry and that its
most important challenge was moving beyond the export of raw materials toward
higher-value products.
“The most important issue for the future of this strategic industry is
to move away from raw-material sales and develop the value chain,” Shahriaki
told NIPNA.
He identified three main priorities for the sector: completing the
value chain and moving toward higher value-added products; raising productivity
and making better use of existing capacity before focusing solely on building
new plants; and diversifying export markets to reduce the sector’s exposure to
sanctions and geopolitical disruptions.
Iran’s petrochemical industry has significant advantages in terms of
feedstock availability, human resources and infrastructure, Shahriaki said,
adding that its future depended on shifting from capacity expansion alone
toward economically viable production, value-chain development and higher
efficiency.
Such a shift would strengthen the industry’s contribution to
foreign-exchange earnings and employment while reducing the economy’s reliance
on revenues from crude oil and gas, he said.
Shahriaki also called for greater investment and the mobilization of
financial resources, including idle domestic liquidity, to help advance petrochemical
development projects.
Balanced development of the petrochemical industry, which he described
as a strategic industrial sector, could help meet the needs of domestic
industries while supporting export revenues, he added.
The industry’s economic impact also extends beyond petrochemical
plants, Shahriaki said, noting that it supports equipment manufacturing,
transportation, technical and engineering services and downstream industries.