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Official: Petchem Industry Strength Lies in Domestic Production

Official: Petchem Industry Strength Lies in Domestic Production
(Saturday, March 9, 2024) 13:27

TEHRAN (NIPNA) -- Emphasizing the significance of utilizing domestic capacities, the Deputy Petroleum Minister and CEO of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) stated that the future of the petrochemical industry hinges on maximizing domestic capabilities.

He underscored that Iran's petrochemical industry would achieve full potential when it succeeds in domestically producing all internationally recognized petrochemical products.

Addressing the inaugural session of the Development and Future Outlook Conference in the Petrochemical Industry held at the Imam Sadiq University of Tehran on Thursday, Morteza Shahmirzaei stated, "Looking into the future without drawing lessons from the past and evaluating the current situation is not feasible. Iran's petrochemical industry owes its existence to the Islamic Revolution."

He added, "We must set aside traditional methods and approaches and shape the future of this industry with innovative thinking, spirit, and transformative approaches, relying entirely on domestic capacities such as leveraging the capabilities of universities, research institutes, science and technology parks, and knowledge-based companies."

The Deputy Petroleum Minister further remarked, "Our martyrs preserved the Iranian identity and did not rely on the West. Relying on the West undermines the industrial and cultural identity of the country."

He continued, "After the Islamic Revolution, our country's elite and specialists took control and management of the oil industry, and during the years following the revolution, this industry did not suffer any disruptions."

"We have never welcomed sanctions, nor will we, but in areas severely targeted by unjust sanctions, including nanotechnology, aerospace, military, armaments, and others, we have achieved self-sufficiency and victory," Shahmirzaei asserted.

He continued, "If we search in the literature of the Supreme Leader's statements, over 30 years ago, he guided us to refrain from crude oil sales."

Shahmirzaei emphasized, "Completing the value chain and indigenizing all technologies is, in fact, implementing the teachings of more than 30 years ago by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, which we have tried to execute and pursue."

"If we can reach the technical knowledge of all internationally recognized petrochemical products and produce them domestically, this will bring prestige to the petrochemical industry," Shahmirzaei noted.

The CEO of the NPC recalled that the first petrochemical complex in the country was inaugurated 65 years ago and added, "During the despotic era, petrochemical production was summarized in six complexes, and despite the red carpet laid out for them in Western countries, they did not want value-added, employment, and intellectual development to occur in our country."

He criticized the notion that cooperation with the West is necessary for progress, stating, "The frozen mindset of needing to align with Europe and America still exists in the country, and we must distance ourselves from it."

Shahmirzaei declared, "Despite the discovery of the first well 113 years ago, we are still dependent on the catalysis field!"

"With eight years of imposed war, we have had the most innovation in the petrochemical industry, and the production of this industry has multiplied several times compared to before the Islamic Revolution. The petrochemical industry is an ultra-specialized industry, and different production processes exist in each complex," he elaborated.

He concluded by stating that until the end of the thirteenth government, the catalysis sector will be entirely indigenous. "In the next four years, we can source all equipment for the oil industry from domestic manufacturers," Shahmirzaei affirmed.

Shahmirzaei highlighted that the current production capacity of the petrochemical industry exceeds 92 million tons in 75 complexes. "The vision of the petrochemical industry is to achieve the technical knowledge of all internationally recognized petrochemical products produced worldwide," he concluded.

The inaugural Development and Future Outlook Conference in the Petrochemical Industry, attended by Morteza Shahmirzaei, CEO of the NPC, managing directors of petrochemical companies, and representatives of active holdings in the country's petrochemical industries, was held at the Faculty of Economics at Imam Sadiq University of Tehran on Thursday, March 7.

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