TEHRAN, Jan. 9--Deputy Oil Minister for petrochemical affairs Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh here Saturday referred to the slow progress in presenting stocks by petrochemical plants and attributed it to the legal problems facing the process, IRNA reported.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony marking the signing of the contact for a LDPE plant at Amir Kabir Petrochemical Complex in Mahshahr, he hoped that Shiraz Petrochemical Company will soon present its stocks.
"National Petrochemical Company (NPC) is required to deposit 50 percent of the revenue gained through sale of its stocks into the national treasury which will inflict losses to the company.
"Given that NPC does not have access to public funds and has to repay the financial facilities extended by domestic and foreign resources, such a requirement will not be in line with its interests," he added.
Turning to the slow process of presentation of stocks by the petrochemical companies, he hoped that once the upcoming fourth development plan (2005-2010) is enforced, the problem will be solved.
He hoped that the value and volume of the petrochemical products will grow to $2 billion and 16 million tons respectively in the current year.
Putting the annual production capacity of the LDPE plant at 300,000 tons, he said, "At the current rates a 300-million-dollar revenue is expected and this figure is to go up to $2.4 billion in 30 years.
"Part of the LDPE plant's output will be consumed domestically, while the rest will be exported," he added.
Saying that this will be the last plant to be constructed within the Amir Kabir Petrochemical Complex in the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone in Mahshahr, he said that the HDPE and PP plants have been ceded to the private sector.
© Iran Daily 2005
