Speaking at the inauguration of the third Iran Petrochem Conference and Exhibition, Ahmad Mahdavi Abhari said the petrochemical industry has not only withstood economic pressure and sanctions but has continued to move forward, adding that the sector’s targeted 8 percent growth under the Seventh National Development Plan can only be achieved through reliance on domestic capabilities.
Mahdavi Abhari described Iran Petrochem as a platform that directly contributes to national GDP by linking the petrochemical industry with domestic manufacturers, knowledge-based companies and banks, calling this three-way partnership the key to sustainable progress. He stressed that bank financing combined with domestic technical capacity can accelerate industrial development.
He noted that the Seventh Development Plan earmarks $25 billion in investment for the petrochemical sector, emphasizing that such figures are achievable in practice, not merely on paper, given the industry’s export-oriented nature. He argued that Iran’s recent foreign-exchange fluctuations are rooted in past overreliance on crude oil revenues, adding that if non-oil exports had reached $80–100 billion, the economy would not be as dependent on oil income.
Highlighting the sector’s macroeconomic role, Mahdavi Abhari said petrochemicals account for roughly $30 billion in GDP, representing 6–7 percent of the national total, making it Iran’s largest non-oil export industry and the top-ranked sector in the capital market. He added that petrochemicals were responsible for 50 percent of non-oil foreign currency supplied to the Iran Currency and Gold Exchange Center in the first half of the year.
According to him, the industry also supplies $10 billion worth of intermediate goods to domestic value chains, provides 2.5 million tons of urea critical to food security, and supports approximately 1.5 million direct jobs. Total investment in the sector has reached $113 billion, with $100 billion already operational and $13 billion planned under the Seventh Development Plan.
Mahdavi Abhari criticized policies that impose export duties on so-called semi-raw products while removing export incentives, warning that such measures undermine investment and value-chain development. He called for a regulatory framework that preserves export exemptions even where duties apply, particularly in special economic zones.
He also pointed to administrative delays in accessing exporters’ own foreign currency revenues and the imposition of flag duties as operational challenges facing the industry, noting that current regulations were intended for crude oil and condensates, not petrochemicals.
In closing, he said permits are being secured for private-sector development of 16 gas fields, with two already approved, adding that within two years privately produced gas—at least 30 million cubic meters per day—will enter the national grid, easing supply constraints and reducing production disruptions for petrochemical plants.