Iran’s Fifth Five-Year Socioeconomic Development Plan (2010-2015) has planned for increasing the annual petrochemical production from 55 million tons to 158 million tons. According to the initial estimate, domestic petrochemical output will witness a 33.7 million ton increase during the period. Based on the plan, 27 projects will become operational through investing 12.325 billion dollars by 2015.
Petrochemical products accounted for the highest share of non-oil goods Iran exported in the past Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2006 to March 20, 2007).
Totally 42.2 percent of the weight and 38.6 percent of the value of exported non-oil products belonged to petrochemicals. The country exported 14,236,800 tons of petrochemical products, valued at 6.11 billion dollars, during the yearlong period, showing 115.5 and 140.8 percent increases in terms of weight and worth respectively when compared to those in their preceding year.
The country has produced 3.141 million tons of different types of petrochemical products from March 21 to May 21, 2007.
Iran will turn out to be a large producer of aromatic, ethylene, and methanol products by the end of Iranian calendar year of 1393 (March 20, 2015), according to predictions.
Last Monday, Borzuyeh Petrochemical Complex, the world’s largest aromatic project, was inaugurated in the presence of President Mahmud Ahamdinejad and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez in Assaluyeh in southern Iran.
The complex is to yield 1.28 million tons of main products including paraxylene, orthoxylene, and benzene as well as 3.178 million tons of byproducts such as light and heavy hydrocarbons, slice of pentane, raffinate, and liquefied gas per annum.
The products are used as raw material for production of polyesters, synthetic fibers, paints, resins, disposable bottles, pharmaceutical compounds, and pesticides.
Ahmadinejad agreed to change the name of “Borzuyeh” to “Nuri” Petrochemical Complex. The decision was made following the request of the family of Mohammad Nuri, former managing director of the complex, who died last year.
Nuri, one of the founders and designers of the complex, had worked in the plant for eight years.