Hassan Abbaspour made the remarks Wednesday, at the Third Process Safety Management Conference. He outlined the scope of the recent 12-day conflict and reviewed crisis-management measures taken across the petrochemical sector. He said the industry “passed through a serious crisis” that now requires a thorough analysis and a multilayer strengthening of safety systems.

Abbaspour said emergency management and control teams were activated as soon as the conflict began. “The consequences of certain incidents in the petrochemical industry can be challenging, which underlines the need for multilayer safety systems,” he said.

Using Lessons Learned From the 12-Day Conflict

Abbaspour said risk awareness must increase, adding that the industry must learn from the experience of the 12-day conflict. Iran’s passive defense organization has recently revised its strategies and approaches, he said.

He emphasized vigilance toward rare but high-impact incidents. Safety issues related to the petrochemical sector, he said, must be reviewed in an integrated manner, and the time needed to restore safe operating conditions should be minimized.

Abbaspour also stressed the need to maintain unified crisis-management structures. “Safety inspections must become more stringent, and process-safety improvements must be monitored continuously,” he said.

Advanced Monitoring and Control Systems

The deputy oil minister said the petrochemical industry uses advanced monitoring and control systems. He described the conference as a specialized forum for shared learning rather than a traditional gathering. “We worked hard during those 12 days, and now we must assess where we could have acted faster or more effectively,” he said. “System recovery is valuable only when we learn from experience.”

Abbaspour said the Seventh Development Plan prioritizes completing the petrochemical value chain. A recent parliamentary review of implementation performance showed the sector met 100% of its first-year targets.

He identified underutilized capacity as a major challenge. About 22% of the industry’s roughly 100 million metric tons of installed capacity is inactive, he said. However, he noted “significant efforts” to stabilize feedstock supplies and prevent further increases in idle capacity.

 Petrochemical Sector as Key Investor in Flare Gas Collection

Abbaspour said supplying feedstock through flare-gas collection is a major strategy. He added that the president has issued directives to accelerate flare-gas reduction, including priority allocation of required foreign currency for project equipment and expedited customs clearance.

He said the petrochemical sector is the primary investor in flare-gas collection projects in East and West Karun. He noted that NGL 3200 will come online by the end of the year and that Bidboland Persian Gulf Gas Refining Co. has made significant investments in East Karun, allowing several flares to be extinguished. Additional units are expected to be commissioned by year-end, he said, describing overall project progress as satisfactory. Maroun Petrochemical Co. is also an investor in flare-gas recovery projects.

Abbaspour said the industry is promoting efficient gas consumption in cooperation with the National Iranian Gas Co. Twelve optimization projects have been defined, and last year, Pardis and Zagros petrochemical plants invested in one of the initiatives to utilize gas saved through the program.

He added that new “operator companies” have become active. “We hope that this year, with the involvement of these companies and public cooperation, part of the petrochemical industry’s feedstock will be supplied through the gas saved,” he said.

The third Process Safety Management Conference was held Wednesday, Nov. 19, by Arya Sasol Polymer Company at the Koushak International Conference Center.