Germans Offer €12-Billion Investment in Iran’s Petrochemical Sector

German companies have offered investment bids equalling €12 billion for Iran’s petrochemical sector, said Abbas She’ri Moqaddam, director of Iran's National Petrochemical Company.

In recent years, foreign firms have been wary of participating in Iran’s petrochemical projects, he said. “Thanks to the developments in the international arena, we are witnessing the presence of foreign delegations in Iran aiming to invest in the country’s petrochemical projects,” Shana news agency quoted Mr. She’ri Moqaddam as saying on December 29.

He went on to say that building petrochemical plants in the vicinity of oil refineries could increase the profitability of the petrochemical industry.

“However, building such plants requires high volumes of investment. So, domestic and foreign investors should seriously enter this field.”

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has said that lifting of the sanctions previously imposed on Iran will open up new horizons in the country’s petrochemical sector.

“We welcome cooperation with first-class companies in order to import technology.”

Direct foreign investment can pave the way for the development of the industry, he noted.

Iran’s petrochemical sector has set an annual output target of around 129 million tons by the end of the country’s sixth five-year development plan (2021).

The country produced 44.5 million tons of petrochemicals in the past Iranian calendar year (which ended on March 20, 2015), with an over 10% rise from 40.5 million tons in its preceding year. 

Iran also exported 14.109 million tons of petrochemicals, valued at $8.205 billion in the first seven months of the current Iranian fiscal year, which started on March 21. Despite a 36.36% uptick in volume of petrochemical exports, revenues rose by just 0.01% compared to the same period last year, according to the Iran Customs Administration's report released on November 10.