EMEA News
Iran Petrochemical Exports Hit $3.53B in 11 Months
In the past 11 months, Iran has exported $3.53 billion in petrochemicals, mainly liquid gas, the country's FARS News Agency (FNA) reports.
Iran's petrochemical plants now produce 57 million tonnes per year, thanks to the commissioning of new projects including the Kermanshah polymer plant in Western Iran, which opened last month, according to Abdolhossein Bayat, head of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC).
With the addition of that plant, Iran's polymer output is now 6.3 million tonne per year, and polymer products account for about 80 percent of domestic sales, Bayat said.
At the same time, FNA also reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the government is reducing its dependence on oil revenues in the next budget bill and planning to diversify its revenue sources.
"Execution of the second phase of targeted subsidies plan as well as the raise of non-oil exports are some of the best ways for decreasing the oil revenues role in the country's economy," Ahmadinejad said.
Iranian officials say the Western embargo on Iranian oil will help the country end its dependence on oil revenues, according to FNA.
One Iranian legislator said in December that the country plans to reduce the role of oil revenues in the new budget to one million barrels per day (mbpd) and seek new income from other export sectors.
A report in December 2012 said Iran had lost $3.8 billion in monthly crude export revenues since July, although it had boosted fuel oil exports..
