According to NPC, Hassan Abbasszadeh stated that the Seventh Development Plan aims to increase petrochemical production capacity by over 130 million tons. He added that the general policies of the plan are based on completing the value chain, and developing these chains with a specified amount of increase – a quantity. This is the first time that value chains have been mentioned in five-year plans, and a quantitative target has been set for them.

He emphasized that policymaking and development plans must consider final product production and movement towards value chain development. He clarified that balanced development in the industry should be prioritized, and within this path, completing four key chains – methanol, propylene, ethylene, and aromatics – is targeted in the seventh development plan. Currently, annual programs for the petrochemical industry are being planned in line with achieving these goals.

The NPC head declared that the growth of the petrochemical industry, in line with preventing raw material sales, is the most important achievement of the oil industry chain and stated: ‘The petrochemical industry embodies the value chain of the oil industry.

Sustainable feedstock provision

Abbaszadeh stated that sustainable feedstock provision is a key element of the plan and added: “Efforts are being made to simultaneously develop capacity while ensuring feedstock availability. To this end, feedstock supply will be pursued through various pathways. One of the most important programs for addressing feedstock shortages in the short term is the collection of flare gas, which not only increases feedstock production but also has a significant positive impact on the environment.

He stated that the primary areas for collecting flare gas are West Karoun, East Karoun, Dehloran, and Ilam – regions where most of the country's flares are located. In addition to these areas, numerous projects have also been defined and implemented in the Assalouyeh region with the aim of utilizing associated flare gas and optimizing energy consumption.

The deputy minister of oil emphasized the importance of energy efficiency and stated: “Natural gas is one of the main feedstocks for the petrochemical industry. As consumption increases in residential and general industrial sectors, it sometimes creates limitations for these industries. We hope to achieve optimized gas consumption through cultural awareness and public participation so that industrial production declines do not occur.

Abbaszadeh emphasized the necessity of balancing the development of the petrochemical industry with upstream development, reminding us that one issue that must be considered in major decisions within the petrochemical industry is feedstock. All available resources should be utilized to increase the feedstock needed by the industry, he concluded.