TEHRAN – Iran plans to raise its nominal petrochemical production capacity by 35 million tons to 131.5 million tons a year by the end of its Seventh National Development Plan (2022- 2027) through 66 expansion projects, a senior official said, targeting an average annual growth of eight percent.

Hossein Alimorad, planning and development director at the National Petrochemical Company (NPC), said the projects, some of which will be commissioned by the end of this year (late March 2026), will also focus on extending the value chain in methanol, ethylene, propylene and aromatics to increase the share of higher value-added products in exports and reduce dependence on basic commodity sales.

He said the strategy was designed with a realistic view of resource constraints, aiming to add an extra 1.5 to two percent to the targeted economic growth through productivity gains.

Under the plan, Iran’s nominal petrochemical capacity will rise from the current 96.6 million tons to 131.5 million tons. By 2027, capacity will increase by 11.6 million tons for propylene, 700,000 tons for methanol derivatives, 3.3 million tons for ethylene (excluding polyethylene), 8.6 million tons for polyethylene, and 3.0 million tons in aromatics downstream.

Alimorad said growth will come mainly from investment and new plants rather than from efficiency gains, but removing production bottlenecks such as feedstock supply, equipment shortages and maintenance delays could allow output to reach full nominal capacity. He added that the program also includes job creation and greater reliance on domestic financing and capital markets.

EF/MA