Mohammadreza Aref, speaking Thursday during a meeting with the managing director and senior executives of the National Petrochemical Company, said the petrochemical industry plays a key role in development, job creation and supplying raw materials for many of the country’s essential goods.

Aref praised efforts to rebuild damaged petrochemical complexes, noting that a report from the company’s managing director showed a favorable trend in rebuilding units and valuable, rare efforts by oil industry workers.

He stressed the importance of coordination among executive bodies and said attention to science and technology is a central pillar of the country’s development. Significant scientific and technological capacity exists in the country, he said, and development should continue by relying on those capacities.

Aref emphasized the need to upgrade damaged units alongside rebuilding them, saying the rebuilding process must rely more than ever on domestic technology. While scientific exchanges with other countries continue, the main focus should be on domestic capabilities.

He also noted passive defense requirements, saying the country’s industrial development should not be limited to one region, and a regional approach to industrial development should be considered despite higher costs.

Industries and companies should pre-plan different scenarios for crisis conditions and precisely define the country’s role and position in the region, especially among Islamic nations, Aref added.

Special task forces formed to rebuild damaged units

Hassan Abbaszadeh, managing director of the NPC, thanked the government and Cabinet for their support during wartime conditions and provided a report on the progress of rebuilding petrochemical units damaged in the third imposed war.

Drawing on the petrochemical industry’s experience from the 12-day war, Abbaszadeh said crisis management guidelines for the petrochemical industry were developed at various levels before the crisis began.

The deputy oil minister said the industry’s main task is supplying raw materials for essential goods needed by the public, with production underway at companies based on established priorities.

Abbaszadeh noted that special task forces have been formed to rebuild and recover damaged units from the third imposed war, and work has begun on units prioritized for production, continuing at a good pace.