Germany, Japan to jointly invest in Iran’s projects
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By Aynur Karimova
Germany and Japan, the two countries that seem firmly determined to reenter the Iranian market seek to invest in various petrochemical projects of Iran.
Marzieh Shahdaei, the Director for projects at Iran’s National Petrochemical Company said that German Linde Group jointly with Japanese MITSUI & CO., LTD. will invest in such projects.
"The two companies have offered $4 billion worth of investment for various projects, including Damavand Petrochemical Complex," IRNA news agency quoted Shahdaei as saying on February 1.
Linde Group and MITSUI & CO., LTD. are among those companies which held negotiations with Iran before the removal of the international sanctions and studied Iran’s petrochemical industry.
"After the implementation of the nuclear deal last month, the companies held further talks with Iran for cooperation," she added.
The implementation of the Damavand petrochemical project worth $4 billion started in 2006-2007 and will be implemented in three stages. The project is planned to process 610 million cubic meters of natural gas annually.
Once Damavand Petrochemical Complex comes on stream, Iran’s petrochemical output will rise from 60 to 90 million tons per year.
Iran’s petrochemical output hit 44.4 million tons in the past Iranian fiscal year (ended on March 20, 2015), 10 percent more year-on-year.
The petrochemical industry is the biggest source of foreign earnings for Iran after oil. However, several problems, in particular the shortage of natural gas as feedstock, old production units, as well as international sanctions, have caused petrochemical complexes to work below the actual production capacity in the country.
Reportedly the country needs about $70 billion of investment to revive the sector.
Iran’s total petrochemical production capacity stands at 60 million metric tons per year which the country plans to double. After the removal of sanctions, the Islamic Republic hopes to realize an output of 120 million tons of petrochemicals by 2020 and 180 million tons by 2025.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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