Seyyed Jalal Mirhashemi, the production control manager of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC), also said on Monday that “Many complexes have witnessed production growth, and in general, with the efforts of our country’s petrochemical industry, it is predicted that a leap in the petrochemical industry will be achieved by March 20, 2021,” IRNA reported.

He added that the petrochemical industry, as an upstream industry, is one of the most important pillars of development and the driving force of various sectors of the country’s economy.

The approach of the NPC is to complete the supply chain, diversify products, provide food for domestic industries, as well as increase the value of products in the petrochemical industry, said Mirhashemi.

The official stated that this year, considering the potentials and ongoing measures, the ground is paved for the realization of the production leap in the Iranian petrochemical industry.

In addition to launching and operating new projects, maximum utilization of the production capacity of petrochemical complexes is on the agenda, he concluded.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani opened several major energy projects in the country in August, a fresh sign that US sanctions have failed to cause a minimum halt to the expansion of the Iranian oil and gas sector.

The five projects unveiled by Rouhani on August 24 were worth $5.6 billion according to a report by IRNA, which said that private investors had contributed to a part of finances needed to finish the development schemes.

The projects included two gas transfer pipelines that would carry natural gas from production facilities on the Persian Gulf to western and northwestern regions of Iran for the purpose of domestic consumption and export.

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said the pipelines and a dispatching station, also unveiled on August 24, had cost $3.66 billion, including $1.5 billion in finances provided by private investors.

A $1.57-billion petrochemical plant in the city of Bushehr, and a $377-million power plant to supply electricity to expanding oil production facilities near the Iraqi border in Khuzestan Province also came on line.

The official noted that major development plans were underway for diversifying the country’s petrochemical products considering the wide range of feedstock available, shana.ir reported.

Noting that the implementation of 17 petrochemical projects is planned for the current Iranian year (ending March 20, 2021), he added, “Medium-term planning shows the determination of the National Petrochemical Company and its commitment to these plans; everyone in NPC is following this trend while the effective role of this company in the development of the country’s petrochemical industry is becoming more prominent.”

In late August, Mohammadi said Iran is going to become the top petrochemical producer in the region after the realization of the industry’s third leap in the Iranian calendar year 1404.

After the implementation of projects in the second and third leaps of the petrochemical industry, 34 new projects with an investment volume of $17 billion and a total capacity of 19 million tons, Iran’s position will be more privileged, said Mohammadi.

Pointing to the Iranian petrochemical industry’s pioneering projects, he said that such projects are the key to the development of the petrochemical industry.

“Along with other pioneering plans, defining new petrochemical projects based on mixed feedstock is a process based on thinking, effort, engineering, and accurate market calculations,” Mohammadi stressed.

According to the official, the NPC’s pioneering projects have been classified into four major categories, namely, methanol, propylene, ethylene, and benzene, according to which 20 smart projects have been defined for meeting domestic demand and diversifying the export basket.

The petrochemical industry is playing a crucial role in Iran’s non-oil economy; based on official data, petrochemical exports constitute the second-largest hard currency earner in Iran, after crude oil. Petrochemical exports comprise nearly 33 percent of the country’s non-oil exports.