Iran finds new petrochemical markets, despite sanctions

TEHRAN,Feb.21(MNA)--Despite rising international pressure on Iran, the country has managed to expand export markets for its petrochemical products, said the managing director of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC). Abdolhossein Bayat said that the Oil Ministry has employed policies to circumvent the sanctions. The NPC is currently exporting to 60 countries, and is the biggest exporter of methanol to Asia. Presently, Iran’s petrochemical production accounts respectively for 24.5 percent of Middle East production and 2.4 percent share the world’s, the report stated. Bayat tol Press TV in July 2011 that the value of Iran's petrochemical exports are expected to reach $14 billion by the end of the current Iranian year (March 19, 2012) and that Iran produced more than 40 million tons of petrochemicals last year. He added that the country exported 18 million tons of petrochemicals worth $11.6 billion last year, marking a 26-percent increase on figures from two years ago. The Islamic Republic annually exports some $2 billion worth of petrochemicals to 17 European countries.