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Solid Steps in Privatization |
One of the policies of the industry is to expand the chain of value
through intermediate and supplementary industries
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Abdolhossein Bayat, Deputy Oil Minister and Managing Director of National
Petrochemical Company, in an interview answered the following questions:
What are Iran's preferences in petrochemical industry?
The
specific geographical position of Iran makes the country fully distinct from
other countries to such an extent that preferences in petrochemical industry
have brought the following advantages:
1.
Presence of hydrocarbon resources in the South Pars and Khuzestan fields
2.
Significant amounts of ethane in gas resources of the country, which is the
basic material for the development of the petrochemical industry
3.
Sustainability of price formula for natural gas in comparison with other oil
feed
4. Raw
materials extracted from natural gas enjoy favorable prices
5. There
are abundant numbers of skilled manpower in the petrochemical industry of the
country
6. Easy
access to the blue waters of the Persian Gulf provides great advantage of
benefitting from plenty of water for industrial use and for cooling towers
7.
Proximity to the Persian Gulf coasts results in significant reduction in
transportation costs and easy access to target markets
8.
Import/export facilities provided in different ports in the Persian Gulf eases
the business process
9.
Domestic market demand for petrochemical products with regard to population
growth in the country is on the rise
10. Close
proximity to the growing economies around the country
11.
Powerful domestic manufacturers are also another strong point for the
development of the petrochemical industry
What is the status of Iran's petrochemical industry in the region and the
world?
By the
end of 2010 petrochemical products output amounted to over 44 million tons of
which about 42 percent were exported to the world market and the remaining
were consumed domestically. About 23 million tons of this amount were produced
in Mahshahr and about 21 million tons in Assalouyeh. According to the
scheduled plans the production capacity of these products would increase to
above 100 million tons by the end of 2014. The production share of
petrochemical industry in the Middle East region was about 27 percent in 2010
which placed the industry in the second stand. Its share in the world in the
same year was about 2.5 percent. However, in comparison with the figures for
2005, when the share of the industry stood at 1.08 percent, a growth of 2.3
percent could be noticed over the period mentioned.
What are the target export markets of Iran's petrochemical industry?
Currently
the Far East by absorbing 41.5 percent of exports of Iran's petrochemical
industry is our largest target market. Next stand the Middle East, Europe,
Indian Subcontinent, and South East Asia, respectively with 23.9 percent,
13.9percent, 10.7 percent and 9 percent. The remaining 1 percent is exported
to other countries.
Petrochemical industry is a pioneering industry in the field of privatization.
Would you please further elaborate in this regard?
With
regard o the privatization policies of Article 44 of the Constitution which
are conveyed by the Supreme Leader, the National Petrochemical Company has
taken solid steps in this connection to such an extent that from 2007 up to
2010 some 21,997 shares of different parts of the industry with an approximate
value of $9 bn has been ceded to the private sector.
Given plans underway for the development of the industry and increase in its
production capacity, would you please further elaborate on the projects under
implementation in the petrochemical industry?
Currently
63 projects with a total production capacity of 64 million tons have been
planned in different parts of the country with the completion of which the
production capacity of petrochemicals would increase over 100 million tons.
The amount of estimated investment for the implementation of the projects is
about $49 bn.
For
example 7 projects with a production capacity of 6.4 million tons are located
in Mahshahr while 23 projects with a production capacity of 30.8 million tons
are located in Assalouyeh.
Along
with the West Ethylene pipeline there are three supplier complexes with a
capacity of 3.5million tons and 11 consumer complexes with a capacity of 3.2
million tons.
Apart from the regions already mentioned, has the National Petrochemical
Company considered other points for the realization of its development
targets?
Yes. One of the policies of the industry is to expand the chain of value
through intermediate and supplementary industries that would be implemented
through chemical parks in cities, such as chain development of styrene, sulfur,
ethylene, propylene, methanol and benzene. It has also been predicted that
this industry would be expanded in gas field of North Pars, Lavan, Qeshm,
Kish, Oman Sea borders and Chabahar. |
