Tehran Times reported that Iran inaugurated a large petrochemical complex, with a projected annual output of 300,000 tonnes of high density polyethylene, in the western province of Kermanshah on Tuesday.
The report said that the construction of the complex started in 2005. It cost EUR 165 million plus IRR 1.6 trillion to be completed. The complex will create around 1,500 jobs and it is projected to produce about USD 429 million of polyethylene annually.
Mr Abdolhossein Bayat MD of National Petrochemical Company said that Iran plans to boost petrochemical production by 12 million tonne by the end of spring.
In November 2012, Mr Bayat said that about USD 80 billion in investment opportunities have been identified in both the upstream and downstream sectors of the Iranian petrochemical industry, which is taking great steps toward development.
He said that China and countries in Western Europe are the main recipients of Iran's petrochemical exports, followed by countries in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and Latin America.
Iran is seeking new markets for its petrochemical products. Toward this end, the NPC has been identifying new export targets for the past two years, and boosting exports of polymer products is on the agenda.
He added that Iran exported USD 14 billion worth of petrochemical products to 60 countries during the previous Iranian calendar year.
He further added that USD 10.5 billion of oil revenues will be allocated for the development of the national petrochemical industry.
