Iran Produces 43m Tons of Petrochemicals | ||
Iran Produces 43m Tons of Petrochemicals Some 43 million tons of various petrochemical products were produced in the past Iranian year (ended March 19) named as the Year of Economic Jihad, said the managing director of National Petrochemical Company (NPC). Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of Butane-1 unit of Jam Petrochemcial Complex in Pars Special Economic Zone, Bushehr province, Abdolhussein Bayat said some 18 million tons of the petrochemicals were exported to 60 countries during the period, of which 105 million tons were produced in the complexes, IRNA reported. The official added that petrochemical exports fetched $14 billion of hard currency for the country, of which $8.5 billion pertain to Bushehr province. So far, $46 billion have been invested in domestic petrochemical industry, pointing out that based on the Fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2010-15) around $50 billion should be invested in the industry, he said. Bayat also said that some $25 billion are expected to be invested in the petrochemical industry of Bushehr province. Butane-1 project has been implemented through the extensive efforts of the officials and industrialists involved in the sector, the official said. Referring to the implementation of Article 44 of the Constitution, he noted that the private sector was the sole investor of the project. Bayat went on to say that the objective of developing downstream industries has been pursued seriously by the ministries of oil and industries. He said that ground has been provided for achieving the objective in Assalouyeh, adding identifying the investment opportunities for upstream and downstream industries has been placed on NPC’s agenda. Earlier, a report released by Fars News Agency said that petrochemical production capacity and the number of Iranian petrochemical complexes have witnessed eye-catching growth in the last three decades since the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Public Relations Department of National Petrochemical Company (NPC) announced that production capacity has increased 19 folds to reach 54.5 million tons compared to the figure for the pre-Islamic Revolution era. It added that nominal petrochemical production capacity reached 51 million tons by the end of the Fourth Five-Year Economic Development Plan from three million tons at the beginning of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The report said only six petrochemical facilities, including Shiraz, Abadan, Razi, Kharg, Farabi and Karbon Iran, with a total capacity of 1.6 million tons were active in 1978 but the number of such facilities rose to 39 in the post-revolution era, raising the output to 15.8 million tons in 2005 and more than 40 million tons in 2010. Gas Condensates Export at 12m Tons Iran exported 12 million tons of gas condensates in the past Iranian year (ended March 19), said the managing director of the Pars Energy Zone’s Customs Office. Ahmad Pourheidari noted that the figure indicates a 16-percent increase in weight and a 43-percent rise in value compared to the figures for the same period a year ago, Fars News Agency reported. Light and heavy polyethylene, gas condensates, propane, butane, benzene and paraxylene were among the major products exported during the said time span, he added. Pourheidari further stressed that Iran exported $9.119 billion worth of various gas condensates from Pars Special Energy Economic Zone in Assalouyeh in the southern province of Bushehr. Earlier in 2011, head of South Pars Oil Terminals said 90 million barrels of gas condensates were exported from South Pars oil and gas field in the previous Iranian year. “Assalouyeh oil terminal in South Pars exported 89.1 million barrels of gas condensates, which shows a considerable growth,” Gholam Abbas Heidari told reporters. Stressing the importance of the giant South Pars oil and gas field in the region, Heidari reiterated, “South Pars is one of the most important oil and gas fields in the Middle East and we have witnessed its all-out growth in the last two years.” Gas Export ‘Unprecedented’ Meanwhile, the managing director of National Iranian Gas Company said some 8.2 billion cubic meters of gas were exported in the past Iranian year (ended March 19) which was unprecedented. Speaking in a press conference held on the occasion of the 17th International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition Javad Oji said that a daily amount of 92 million cubic meters of gas were supplied to the major domestic industries during the period while the figure for the corresponding period of the preceding year was 72 million cubic meters per day, IRNA reported. He said that 4,200 industrial units were connected to the nationwide gas network last year, adding that gas requirements of 44,000 industrial units are provided through the pipeline. Oji also said the ground is prepared for transferring 750 million cubic meters of gas in the country per day. The official said some 640 million cubic meters of sour and sweet gas, which are extracted from the gas fields, are processed in 13 refineries. “About 30 million cubic meters of gas extracted from the South Pars’ gas field, Bushehr province were processed in Fajr Jam refinery, Bushehr province, and Bid Boland refinery, Khuzestan province,” Oji said. More Offshore Output Oil production of the field which belongs to the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) will increase by 4 percent. IOOC’s Managing Director Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh said oil production of Hengam, Forouzan and Hendijan oilfields in the Persian Gulf will increase by 10,000, 10,000 and 15,000 barrels per day respectively in the current Iranian year (started March 20) and the next one, IRNA reported. According to the official, the reserve capacity of Bahergan and Lavan oilfields in the Persian Gulf will increase by 4.7 million barrels, of which 4.2 million barrels pertain to Bahregan oilfield and 500,000 barrels is related to Lavan oilfield. The largest number of oilfield development agreements which were signed in the past year pertained to IOOC, Zirakchianzadeh said pointing out that contracts worth $14 billion are presently prepared for signing. He also said that about 70 percent of the agreements pertain to the development of joint oilfields, and that for the first time finance agreements have been signed for development of oilfields. The required financial resources were procured through domestic resources and National Development Fund last year, he added. Reshdat Oilfield, which is also located in the Persian Gulf, produces some 21,000 barrels per day of oil in the current year which shows a three-fold rise compared to the figure for the past year. Zirakchianzadeh announced that the first phases of Hengam and Foruzan oilfields are expected to become operational in the current year, noting some 30,000 bpd of oil are projected to be produced from Hengam oilfields. Iran shares oil and gas fields with most of its neighbors, including Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman. The country is OPEC’s second largest oil producer and the fourth crude oil exporter. In recent years, Iran has gradually been moving towards becoming a major exporter of refined oil and petrochemical products with significant success. | ||
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