Morteza Shahmirzaei announced at the 18th International Exhibition of Plastic, Rubber, Machinery, and Equipment (IRAN PLAST 2024) that Iran plans to launch 15 new petrochemical projects by late March 2025. Since the beginning of the year, five major petrochemical projects have become operational.
Shahmirzaei highlighted the acceleration of petrochemical projects in the Makran region, with expectations that one will come online by the end of the year. He also noted that Iran’s petrochemical sector aims to achieve self-sufficiency in necessary items and equipment within the next five years.
Currently, Iran’s petrochemical industry has a capacity of 96 million tons, which is expected to exceed 100 million tons with the new projects. Shahmirzaei projected that petrochemical output would reach 80 million tons by the end of the current Iranian calendar year. The Oil Ministry’s goal is to ensure a steady supply of feed to petrochemical complexes. The previous Iranian calendar year saw petrochemical exports total 30 million tons.
In May, Ahmad Mahdavi Abhari, director general of the Association of Petrochemical Industry Corporation (APIC), reported that Iran’s petrochemical output had increased by 15 million tons over the past two years, reaching 82 million tons. He noted that the output was 67 million tons before President Raisi’s administration began in August 2021.
Abhari also highlighted that Iran’s petrochemical industry created approximately 143,000 direct jobs during this period and reported a growth rate of 40.6%, up from 27.5% in the previous five-year development plan. The industry accounts for 28% of the region’s petrochemical capacity and 2.7% of the world’s capacity.
Petrochemical exports are a crucial part of Iran’s non-oil economy, constituting the second-largest source of revenue after crude oil and nearly 33% of non-oil exports. Shahmirzaei announced plans to increase annual petrochemical production capacity to 200 million tons over the next decade.
