Iran’s road toward becoming a petrochemical power

More than 70 domestic and foreign companies and their representatives are attending the Iran Petrochemical Forum (IPF) in Tehran, which is held under the motto of "clean technology" with the aim of exploring new horizons for sustainable development in the petrochemical industry.

The National Petrochemical Company (NPC)'s planning and development director Hassan Abbaszedeh told the two-day forum’s inauguration on Sunday that the effective participation and support of the private and public sector in holding the forum promises a better future.

Petrochemicals is deemed as a strategic industry, the continued development of which can extricate the Iranian economy from the choking grip of sanctions.

For decades, the United States has imposed waves after waves of sanctions on Iran's oil and gas industry in order to choke off the country’s main source of revenues. The steps have crippled crude exports at times but not sales of fuel and petrochemicals, which have boomed in recent years.

Iran exported petrochemicals and petroleum products worth almost $20 billion in 2020, twice the value of its crude exports.

While the sanctions apply to petrochemicals as well, sales of petrochemical products are more difficult to trace. Crude can be identified as Iranian by its grade and other features, while big oil tankers are more easily tracked via satellite.

The NPC is a subsidiary to the Iranian Petroleum Ministry which is owned by the government. In recent years, it has been increasingly shifting to the private sector in order to offset the volatile market for crude oil exports.

According to NPC Managing Director Morteza Shahmirzaee, there are nearly 75 petrochemical complexes in the country with an annual capacity of 95 million tonnes, which is expected to increase to 140 million tonnes in 2025. They produce 550 grades of petrochemical products which are set to grow with new investment. 

The sector now represents the highest added value in Iran’s oil industry value-chain, further solidifying its strategic importance. It accounts for 30 percent of its non-oil exports. Hence, a rapid expansion of the country’s petrochemical industry is currently underway.

Under the general polices of sea-centered development outlined by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of ​​Oman are the focus of Iran’s petrochemical expansion plans.

Several important and strategic projects are being worked on across Asaluyeh, Siraf, Kangan, the Parsian Energy Intensive Industrial Special Economic Zone and Lamerd, which will transform the industry and diversity the petrochemical products portfolio, besides bringing about economic growth and employment to the region.

The Mokran Petrochemical Complex (MPC) will come online by the end of the current Persian year in March 2025. That will make Chabahar in southeasternmost corner of Iran the country’s third petrochemical of Iran after Mahshahr and Asalouyeh.

Shahmirzaee says internalizing the needs of the petrochemical industry and relying on domestic power is key to its growth and development.

The country is already all but self-sufficient in producing catalysts for the petroleum sector, as well plastic and chemical industries. “Iran's petrochemical industry relies on the power and expertise of Iranian and local knowledge in the path of development and progress,” he said.

In Iran, refinery and petrochemical catalysts are a major part of consumption. These catalysts play a crucial role in enhancing efficiency, reducing production costs, and improving product quality in the petrochemical industry.

Russia and Venezuela are extensively using Iran-made catalysts. In December 2022, Shahmirzaee said Russian companies had used nearly one tonne of Iranian catalysts in its petrochemical complexes, and were demanding for more amid Western sanctions.

Russian energy companies have been increasingly shifting their focus to petrochemicals in a drive to capitalize on the fast-growing sector and offset the volatile market for crude oil exports.

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