Asian firm may invest €1.9 billion in Iranian petrochemical project

TEHRAN,Feb.29(MNA)-- Iran is in talks with an Asian company to invest €1.9 billion in developing Bushehr petrochemical plant, south of Iran, an official with the National Petrochemical Company of Iran said on Tuesday, without disclosing the name of the Asian company. Rahim Sharif Mousavi added that the project is aimed to produce 2.9 million tons of ethylene and methanol per year. For the time being, Iran holds 24.5 percent share and 2.4 percent share in the Middle East’s and the world’s petrochemical production, respectively. The National Petrochemical Company’s managing director Abdolhossein Bayat said in July 2011 that the value of Iran's petrochemical exports is expected to reach $14 billion by the end of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2012). Bayat noted that Iran produced more than 40 million tons of petrochemical goods in the last Iranian calendar year. Statistics show that the Islamic Republic exports annually some $2 billion worth of petrochemicals to 17 European countries. The country also exported 18 million tons of petrochemical products worth $11.6 billion last year, showing a 26-percent increase compared to two years ago, he added.