Hassan Abbaszadeh described the leap in the development of the petrochemical sector in the downstream oil industry as the most notable achievement in the oil industry’s chain over the past 46 years.

He emphasized that the petrochemical industry has grown from a modest capacity of about 3 million tons per year to approximately 96 million tons annually, encompassing a diverse range of petrochemical products.

Abbaszadeh explained the importance of this growth, stating, “While I respect all sectors of the oil industry, the petrochemical industry represents the value-creating link in the oil industry’s value chain by preventing the sale of crude oil. It has experienced a significant leap in recent years. Although many efforts have been made in oil production, this growth is incomparable.”

The NPC head noted that, in his opinion, sufficient attention has not been paid to the development of the petrochemical industry’s value chain in past years. He added, “The next step for this industry is to move toward completing the value chain from semi-finished products to producing higher value-added goods.”

Abbaszadeh pointed out that the Seventh Development Plan (2024-28) has set a target to increase the petrochemical industry’s capacity to 131 million tons by the end of the program.

He said, “The general policies of the plan are based on completing the value chain, with specific quantitative increases outlined for the development of these chains. This is the first time that the five-year development plans have explicitly mentioned these chains and set quantitative goals for them.”

He also highlighted that the Seventh Development Plan aims to complete four major chains: methanol, propylene, ethylene, and aromatics.

Abbaszadeh added, “Annual plans for the petrochemical industry are now aligned with achieving the goals of this program, and we are making every effort to move in this direction.”