Official: Iran Ready for Joint Venture in Petchem Industry
TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian energy official voiced the country's readiness for accepting investment by foreign companies in Iran's petrochemical projects.
"After the removal of the western-imposed sanctions, Iran has prepared the ground for joint venture investments by European oil majors," Managing Director of Iran's Petrochemical Industry Investment Company (PIIC) Fereydoun Fadayee Dolat said.
He underlined that Tehran accepts joint venture investments with companies that propose lower prices for transfer of advanced technologies to Iran.
"Several European companies have declared interest in financing and transfer of technology to Iran," Fadayee Dolat said.
In a relevant development in April, Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said Iran will launch major petrochemical projects with an investment of $5 billion in 2017.
Zangeneh said the projects include a methanol production plant in Assaluyeh south of Iran.
The plant will run with the nameplate capacity of 2.5 million tons per year of methanol.
Furthermore, three polyethylene projects in Sanandaj, Mahabad and Loresan, all located west of Iran with a capacity to produce 300,000 tons of products annually will also come on-stream.
He said Iran's ministry of petroleum is seriously focused on bolstering downstream and petrochemical industries across the country, adding that completion of the value chain in the petrochemical sector will be in line with materialization of resistive economy requirements.
"Small petrochemical plants can supply 40,000 to 50,000 tons of products annually which can generate jobs in the country," he said.