Managing director of Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) says the country is prepared to pave the way to attract foreign investments in its oil and petrochemical sectors after a final nuclear deal is clinched between Tehran and P 5+1 group of countries.
Abbas She’ri-Moqaddam predicted that once Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany reach a final agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program and anti-Iran sanctions are lifted, “foreign investors will flock Iran oil and petrochemical markets.”
Last week, Iran and the P5+1 states – the US, France, Britain, Russia and China plus Germany – issued a joint statement at the end of eight days of sensitive nuclear negotiations in the Swiss city of Lausanne.
Iran and the six global powers will work to draw up a final accord by the end of the self-designated June 30 deadline.
The Iranian official said the country’s petrochemical industry needs modern technologies as well as a large amount of foreign investment.
“Under the current circumstances, petrochemical industry needs an annual USD8 billion investment to make up for the past underdevelopment,” he was quoted as saying by the Tasnim News Agency on Monday.
Iran says it needs $31 billion to inaugurate 60 half-complete petrochemical projects. It says once the projects come on stream, they will double the country’s current annual production capacity of 60 million tons.
Iran’s annual petrochemical production capacity is expected to plateau at 100 million tons from the current 60 million tons by 2020 if Western governments ease their sanctions.
Iran hopes to see its petrochemical production capacity increase 1.3 million tons by next March which marks the end of Iran’s calendar year.
Iran produced 40 million tons of petrochemical products in the last calendar year, with $9 billion gained from exports. Iran predicts to obtain around $12 billion from petrochemical exports this calendar year.
Iran is determined to become the leading producer of petrochemicals in the Middle East.
The country has significantly expanded the range and volume of its petrochemical production over the past few years, and the NPC has become the second largest producer and exporter of petrochemicals in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia.
Source: Press TV
