TEHRAN (Iran News) Afshin Gholamali-Pour, in an interview with IRNA, outlined Iran’s petrochemical roadmap, describing technical know-how as the key to maintaining a competitive edge in global markets. He noted that the current industry reflects both decades of achievements and the accumulation of longstanding challenges.

He said that in 2024 (Iranian year 1403), the sector’s nominal capacity reached 96.6 million tons annually, with 76 complexes operating in fields ranging from methanol to polymers and aromatic products. Actual production reached about 66 million tons, with $11 billion worth sold domestically and nearly $13 billion exported.

Feedstock and fuel for the industry are primarily supplied by oil refineries, gas plants, NGLs, and gas fields — equivalent to 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day. Despite its vast infrastructure, the sector faces feedstock shortages, investment hurdles, and the urgent need for technology upgrades.

Under the 7th Plan, total capacity should rise from 96.6 million tons to 131.5 million tons, with the propylene chain growing 344% — from 1.03 to 4.6 million tons. The methanol downstream chain is projected to grow 391% (from 2.4 to 11.6 million tons), while the ethylene downstream chain (excluding polyethylene) will expand 287% (from 0.18 to 0.7 million tons). Polyethylene capacity will rise from 5.15 to 8.6 million tons, and aromatics from 2.28 to 3 million tons, marking a shift from raw material exports to value-added products.

Sixty-six projects form the backbone of this expansion, including downstream ethylene and propylene facilities, GTO and MTO units, methanol and its derivatives, urea and ammonia plants, aromatic production, and infrastructure and utility projects.

Stable feedstock supply is described as the industry’s “lifeline,” with any disruption quickly affecting the entire production and export chain. In 2023 (Iranian year 1402), feedstock gas shortages reached around 42% of nominal capacity due to declining gas field pressure, seasonal limitations, competition from other energy consumers, and weaknesses in transmission infrastructure.

Proposed solutions include upstream field development with investment from petrochemical holding companies, flare gas recovery, using alternative feedstocks like coal, SNG, and naphtha, improving energy efficiency, and allocating saved gas to petrochemical plants.

Several upstream development projects are already underway, such as Bakhtar Petrochemical Group and Petrofarhang Company’s participation in the Gordian and Pazanan gas fields. These projects are at various stages, from data exchange to final contract signing.

Financing options under consideration include long-term loans from foreign banks and institutions (especially China), forming public joint-stock companies, creating private investment funds, issuing Sukuk and hybrid securities in the capital market, using National Development Fund facilities, establishing banking consortia for mega-projects, and short-term foreign currency loans for strategic initiatives. “Petrochemical Sector”

Gholamali-Pour identified technical expertise as the heart of competitiveness, highlighting the role of the Petrochemical Research and Technology Company in localizing licenses, partnering with foreign firms for R&D, and negotiating with technology-transfer-ready companies. Equipment procurement remains hindered by customs issues, currency allocation delays, non-release of priority goods, and unreliable domestic suppliers.

On regulatory and management challenges, he cited complex approvals, environmental restrictions, conflicts with local stakeholders, weak contractor teams, and the need to revise currency adjustment rates. He called for amending government resolutions, revising laws, improving EPC contractor qualifications, and strengthening the National Petrochemical Company’s regulatory role in policymaking, monitoring, and arbitration.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) Speaking during a meeting with CEOs and representatives from major petrochemical holding companies and the Secretary of the Petrochemical Employers’ Trade Association, Abbaszadeh expressed condolences over the recent accident at Shahid Rajaee Port and paid tribute to Iranian workers on the occasion of International Workers’ Day.

He emphasized the critical importance of safety and adherence to HSE (Health, Safety, and Environment) protocols, particularly at terminals and storage facilities. He noted that the national comprehensive safety plan for petrochemical terminals and storage units is being implemented, with a focus on minimizing the time products spend at docks—especially in key regions like Asaluyeh and Mahshahr.

Following a recent inspection of petrochemical terminals in Asaluyeh, Abbaszadeh said that preparations are underway to create additional infrastructure supporting Shahid Rajaee Port, including allocated land and emergency discharge plans.

Abbaszadeh, who also serves as Deputy Oil Minister, called on petrochemical holdings and companies to actively support terminal operations and collaborate to ensure sustained development. He praised the synergy between public and private stakeholders, noting that this cooperation has led to major achievements across various sectors of the industry.

According to Abbaszadeh, Iran’s petrochemical output capacity stood at approximately 97 million tons in 2024, with actual production reaching 75.2 million tons. Of this, 29.2 million tons were exported, generating $13 billion, while domestic sales totaled 13.1 million tons, valued at around $11 billion.

This year, new projects totaling 8.5 million tons in capacity are scheduled to come online, raising the nominal production capacity to 105 million tons and expected actual output to 83.5 million tons. For the year 1404, exports are projected to reach 34.8 million tons worth $13.6 billion, while domestic sales are estimated at 16.1 million tons worth over $10 billion.

Abbaszadeh highlighted that several new petrochemical projects this year are based on non-gas feedstocks, with only one relying on natural gas. Notably, three new products will be produced in Iran for the first time, and the projects will extensively utilize domestically manufactured components.

An additional 10 million cubic meters of feedstock from flare gas recovery will be supplied to the industry in 2025. Long-term sales contracts between petrochemical companies and customers are also in the finalization stages, based on a directive from the First Vice President. However, these contracts will not cover all petrochemical products.

The NPC is also exploring new feedstock sources, including flare gas from within the industry and nearby oil fields, in cooperation with major holding companies. This year, the sector will require 51 million cubic meters of natural gas for feedstock and 63 million cubic meters for fuel.

Abbaszadeh stressed the importance of energy efficiency and social responsibility in the petrochemical industry. He called on holding companies to honor their commitments in social programs and highlighted the crucial role of strategic advisory councils in ensuring accountability.

He also urged all petrochemical companies and holdings to actively participate in the upcoming Petrochemical Industry Excellence Award by nominating representatives and assisting with its implementation.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) Madadi noted that for about nine years, there have been continuous calls from the Ministry of Energy regarding renewable energy, which is both environmentally beneficial and utilizes God-given resources such as wind and sunlight to generate needed electricity in the country. He mentioned that renewable electricity significantly supports the country and industry during peak demand times, which poses a major challenge. Predictions suggest that by 2041, an additional 200,000 megawatts of electricity will be required at a growth rate of 5% per year, while the current installed capacity stands at 94,000 megawatts. This creates a significant gap that could lead to substantial economic losses if unaddressed.

He further explained that according to official announcements, the industry faced over 200 trillion rials in opportunity costs this year due to energy shortages, compared to around 80 trillion rials the previous year. Madadi attributed electricity generation and consumption imbalances primarily to the state-controlled economy, calling for the removal of Tavanir (the national power distributor) from the electricity purchase and sale cycle. He criticized the current system where electricity generated is sold to consumers without timely payments to producers, saying: “If the foundation is wrong, why continue along this path?” He attributed the underdevelopment of renewable energy in the country to the lack of budget allocation for fuel costs within the ministry’s framework.

According to Madadi, Article 61 of the Consumption Pattern Reform Law requires the government to guarantee a 20-year buyback price for those wishing to invest in renewables. However, he lamented that the government has resisted implementing this law and failed to allocate a budget for it. He stressed that the government should step away from the intermediary role in the electricity market, stating, “As long as this process continues, we should not expect improvements in the electricity sector.” “Exports ”

Madadi noted that the private sector is tasked with developing renewable energy solutions. He pointed out that in recent years, a significant portion of foreign investment targeted renewable energy, with companies from Germany, France, Italy, and South Africa establishing power plants. However, these developments were halted due to non-payment by the government. He expressed a strong conviction that a state-led economy cannot foster the growth of renewable energy and criticized government intervention in creating a “Green Exchange” for renewables. “Exports ”

Ardeshir Dadras, Chairman of the CNG and Related Industries Association, highlighted the importance of energy economics, noting that 85% of Iran’s economy depends on energy, primarily natural gas. He emphasized the need to adopt global standards and patterns in energy development, advocating for the use of frameworks outlined by the International Energy Agency regarding pricing, storage, and reducing energy waste.

Hassanali Taghi-Zadeh Landeh, Chairman of the Syndicate of Electricity Producers, criticized the management of electrical economics by the Ministry of Energy and Tavanir, asserting that government presence in the electricity trade hinders the growth of power plants and breeds inefficiency in the electricity economy. He called for the government to exit the electricity market and hand over operations to the private sector to alleviate shortages. He expressed skepticism about finding a solution for Electricity imbalance as long as the government remains involved in electricity trading.

In summary, increased interventions by the government in the electricity sector, the lack of adherence to international standards, and rising costs are leading to significant challenges in Iran’s electricity production, as industry leaders urge for a shift towards privatization and a market-driven economy.

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Speaking in a ceremony, Morteza Shahmirzaei said that when the Islamic Revolution was established in Iran in 1979, the country had only 6 petrochemical complexes but today due to the blessing of the Islamic Revolution, the production capacity has reached 90m tons per year.

He added that Iran is determined to double the speed of development in its petrochemical industry in 12 years and to increase the production capacity to 200m tons.

He added that the country produced 1.5m tons of petrochemical production in 2000 ago but today the capacity has increased significantly and the country converts products into valuable products.

He admitted that the demand for the oil products is facing downward trend in the world because the world is moving to use clean energy and to put aside fossil fuels.

Shahmirzaei added that currently over 500 grades of different petrochemical products are produced in Iran and the government is determined to complete the value chain. He stated that over 110 small and big projects are underway that some of them are valued at over $4b.

He noted that since Iran has been permanently under the military and coup d’etat threat from the beginning of the Islamic Revolution and the country has been under the threat of dissolution and the country also faced war and post-war reconstruction and after them economic sanctions appeared. He reiterated that in any component that the country progressed it faced sanctions and this is the miracle of the revolution and despite all sanctions, the production capacity of 1.5m tons was increased to 90m tons, it means in 43 years the production has become sixtyfold.

Shahmirzaei reiterated that doors of the oil installations are to open for the youths in the country, adding that the company is ready to hand over implementation of the underway projects to the youths.

He said that currently the petrochemical complexes has increased from 6 to 73 and 67 of them have been constructed by the domestic experts after the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Shahmirzaei went on to say that last year the value of petrochemical production was $23b that $15b of it was exported, and $2.5b of the earned money from exports has been used for buying equipment but the construction chain has not been completed.

He reiterated that the main strategy of the company is to move towards creating forex, jobs and honors. He stated that almost 70% of the required equipment of the industry is home-made and for this reason the self-sufficiency center was launched in the oil industry of the country and all required goods of the industry is tried to be produced by the domestic forces.

Shahmirzaei stated that production of every one million tons of petrochemical product in the field of value chain creates 170,000 jobs in the downstream industries.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) –Ambassador of Brazil to Tehran Laudemar Gonçalves de Aguiar Neto in the meeting with Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization Alireza Payman Pak announced readiness of his country for buying urea and petrochemical products from Iran and called for boosting trade between the two states.

In the meeting, De Aguiar Neto expressed interest of his country for broadening all-out ties with Iran and pointed to the significance of Iran in the Central Asia and West Asia and called it an important trade partner in the region.

He then pointed to the interest of the Brazilian government for developing ties with Tehran and its readiness for imports of urea and petrochemical products from Iran and in return exporting corn and animal feedstock to Iran. De Aguiar Neto then pointed to the meetings with Iranian officials regarding expansion of cooperation in the fields of pharmaceutical and nanotechnology.

Payman Pak, for his part in the meeting, pointed to the grounds for broadening economic cooperation with Brazil as the most important country in the Latin America and termed Brazil as one of the target destinations for Iran’s exports as a market with high potentials for broadening trade cooperation.

He then pointed to the strong determination of current Iranian government for broadening trade with Latin American states especially with Brazil and expressed hope that with diversifying the exported goods, the trade relation between Iran and Brazil will broaden more than ever.

Payman Pak went on to say that Iran is ready for cooperation with Brazil in the field of creating regional and international chain for providing goods, developing banking cooperation and barter of goods between the two countries.

In the meeting, participants also pointed to the historic relation of Iran and Brazil and announced new financial and investment regulations in Brazil are under preparation and announced readiness for all-out cooperation.

The participants also called for interaction between Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization with Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Plan to connect Tabriz Petrochemical Company to West Ethylene Pipeline was opened in Miandoab, West Azarbaijan province, on Thursday in the presence of Chief of Staff of Iranian President Mahmoud Vaezi.

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IRAN NWS ECONOMIC DESK

He pointed to the second leap in the petrochemical industry which was launched in 2013, adding that by planning and exploiting the new projects in the second leap, the production capacity in the industry will hit 100m tons by 2020 and the current revenues of $17b from the petrochemical products would reach $25b.

Mohammadi went on to say that 27 petrochemical projects will come on stream by 2020, adding that some petrochemical projects like Kaveh Methanol, Olefin of Ilam, Bushehr Methanol and Takht Jamshid VPR will be inaugurated this year.

He termed the next year as a busy year for petrochemical industry, adding that 16 projects in next year and 1400 projects the year after will come on stream in the petrochemical industry. He noted that by materializing the second leap in the petrochemical industry, the number of the petrochemical complexes in the country will increase from 56 to 83 complexes.

He added that the third leap in petrochemical industry would be carried out between 2020 and 2024, adding that by implementing the projects and exploiting the complexes, the annual production capacity of the industry will reach 133m tons while the value of total petrochemical production will reach $37b by end of 2024.

Mohammadi added that the volume of investment in the second leap was $17b and the value of the projects in the third leap is $23b. He noted that the volume of the underway investments in the petrochemical industry is $40b and $13b of the total amount has been financed by domestic and foreign sources.

He added that for accomplishing the projects in the second leap by the end of 2020, the country needs investment worth $5b.

Mohammadi also pointed to 13^th IRAN PLAST International Exhibition of Plastics, Rubber, Machinery and Equipment which will be held at Tehran International Permanent Fairground on September 22-25, adding that 570 local and 35 foreign companies are to attend the exhibition. He went on to say that 12 delegations from 10 countries will be present in the exhibition.

He added that the exhibition is a center for deepening the relation between producers and enterprises in the business, noting that about 850,000 people are working in 15,000 active enterprises of the downstream petrochemicals industries.

Mohammadi also said that ECO PLAST Conference will be held on the sidelines of IRAN PLAST, noting that oil and energy ministers from Central Asian and neighboring states have been invited to the event.

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