"New projects will be planned with a view to completing the value chain," she said.
Shahdaei said Iran was among few countries with access to petrochemical feedstock. "On this basis, implementation of petrochemical industry projects in the future will be the standard-bearer of foreign investment and transfer of technology into the country," she added.
She said 52 petrochemical production plants were in operation, adding that the rated capacity of these plants stood at 60 million tonnes a year.
Shahdaei said petrochemical plants in Iran brought their output to 51 million tonnes last calendar year.
She said that Iran was earning $15 billion from selling 28 million tonnes of petrochemicals on domestic and foreign markets.
"With the inauguration of these four petrochemical projects, two million tonnes will be added to the country's petrochemical production capacity. Meantime, $883 million has been invested in these projects," said Shahdaei.
Petchem Output Up 5mn Tonnes in 4 Years
Shahdaei said 13 petrochemical projects had come online over the past four years, adding 5.2 million tonnes to the country's petrochemical output capacity.
She said seven projects were to come online this calendar year and 10 others next calendar year.
She added that the country would see its petrochemical production capacity increase some 20 million tonnes by March 2019.
Pardis Petrochemical Plant is due to come online soon, followed by Marjan Petrochemical Plant and Phase I of Bushehr Petrochemical Plant later this year.
25 New Projects Envisaged
Shahdaei said 25 new projects are envisaged under Iran's petrochemical development roadmap enshrined in the country's 6th Five-Year Economic Development Plan. These new projects would be fed mainly on domestically produced feedstock and natural gas.
She said that the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum had assigned five upstream projects to NPC, adding: "In total, there are 30 petrochemical projects whose development would need $40 billion in investment. Furthermore, $15 billon is needed for completing remaining projects."
Regarding zones envisaged for petrochemical projects, Shahdaei said Mahshahr, Lavan, Kish, Qeshm, Bushehr, Jask and Chabahar were prioritized due to their proximity to the Sea of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
Takht-e Jamshid Pars Petrochemical Plant
Takht-e Jamshid Pars petrochemical plant was established to produce 55,000 tonnes a year of polystyrene. This project has been financed by €40 million plus IRR 1,350 billion from equities. The plant is estimated to sell around $85 million of products a year. Pars petrochemical plant will supply 50,000 tonnes a year of feedstock to this project.
Phase II of Kavian Petrochemical Plant
Kavian petrochemical plant is the largest olefin unit in the Middle East. Phase II of this plant would double the plant's output to deliver two million tonnes a year of ethylene to polymer units located on the route of the West Ethylene Pipeline. This project is financed by €200 million provided by National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI) and IRR 2,350 billion from equities. Annual sales are estimated to reach $950 million in Phase II which will be fed by 1.3 million tonnes a year of ethane from the development phases of South Pars gas field.
Morvarid MEG Plant
The second phase of Morvarid petrochemical plant is designed to produce monoethylene, diethylene and triethylene to create value. The feedstock for this plant comes from the olefin unit of Morvardi Petrochemical Plant (340,000 tonnes of ethylene a year) as well as 368,000 tonnes a year of oxygen to produce 554,000 tonnes a year of ethylene glycol. This project is funded by €170 million of foreign financing plus IRR 8,900 billion from equities. It is estimated to generate $630 million in annual revenue.
Entekhab Polystyrene
The polystyrene unit of Entekhab Industrial Group has been designed and launched with a production capacity of 25,000 tonnes of polystyrene. This project has been financed by $120 million plus IRR 2,000 billion from equities. It is estimated to yield $385 million from annual sales. Pars Petrochemical Plant will feed the project with 235,000 tonnes a year of styrene.