Addressing a press conference on Monday, Behzad Mohammadi said the country exported 25 million tons of petrochemicals during the year despite the restrictions caused by the sanctions and the outbreak of the coronavirus.

He said that the growth of annual demand for petroleum products in the world is less than 0.9% while the growth of annual demand for petrochemical products is close to 5%, arguing: "This is an important sign for the need to develop the petrochemical industry.”

The CEO of the National Petrochemical Company noted the 58-year history of the petrochemical industry in Iran, and added: “The production capacity of the petrochemical industry has increased from 65 million tons in [the calendar year of] 1398, with the inauguration of 17 projects and an increase of 25 million tons, to 90 million tons, which is a unique record in the history of this industry.”

Mohammadi estimated the average progress of the remaining 10 projects of the second leap of the petrochemical industry as 84%,​and said that these projects will be operational by the end of the current Iranian calendar year which began on March 21.

He further said that currently 40 active projects are under way in the form of the third leap of the industry and the capacity will reach about 135 million tons by 2025, adding: “With the realization of the third leap projects, Iran's ranking in production of basic products in the Middle East Will be upgraded from second to the first place.”