Iran guarantees foreign investment in petrochemical industry: Iranian minister

TEHRAN,May 14(MNA) – Iran guarantees both domestic and foreign investment in petrochemical industry, Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi announced on Monday. There are profitable investment opportunities in Iran, but the petrochemical sector is certainly the most advantageous of all, IRNA quoted Qasemi as saying. The National Iranian Petrochemical Company welcomes domestic and foreign investment, he told a conference on petrochemical industry in Tehran. Representatives from 36 foreign companies have attended the conference. Ramezan Oladi, an official at the National Iranian Petrochemical Industries Company, said on Sunday that Iran will hold a 38 percent share in the Middle East’s petrochemical output by 2015. By the end of the fifth five-year development plan (2015) the share of Iran in petrochemical production will increase to 38 percent from the current 24 percent, he added. Deputy Oil Minister Abdolhossein Bayat has said that the country’s petrochemical output will surpass 75 million tons by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 2014). Over 40,000 petrochemical units are in operation across the country, he added. Iran exported some $12 billion worth of petrochemical products in the past Iranian calendar year, Bayat said. Last year, petrochemical products were exported to around 60 countries of the world, he said. Iran hopes OPEC lowers output Iran is unhappy with the current oil prices, Qasemi said, hinting at a proposal for the OPEC to lower its output to compensate for a drop in crude prices. "Iran's suggestion has always been to reduce OPEC production ceiling," he added, AFP reported. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries boosted production to 30.21 million barrels a day in April from 29.93 million in March maintaining a flat forecast of global demand. The move led to lower crude prices in Asian trade on Monday. "Market is not in a very bad situation but (the oil price) does not correspond to our expectations," Qasemi said, adding that Iran sees "ideal oil prices" above 100 dollars per barrel. "Part of the fluctuations in oil prices is because of summer. We hope to find a solution at the next OPEC meeting," he added, referring to the OPEC meeting scheduled in Vienna on May 31.