Iran set to ink petrochem contracts worth US$10 bn by end of March 2017

Iran’s deputy petroleum minister Amir Hossein  Zamaninia expects new oil contracts worth US$10 billion to be signed in the remaining half of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 20, 2016).

The minister made the comments on the sidelines of a signing ceremony between Iran’s government-owned corporation National Petrochemical Company (NPC) and Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc (Shell). The two companies have signed a letter of intent (LOI) agreeing to cooperate and start studies regarding carrying out petrochemical projects in the country.

Zamaninia said that the agreement between NPC and Shell is a big step forward. He is also hopeful that Shell will start an activity in the country’s petrochemical industry as soon as possible, adding that Iran’s petrochemical projects could become operational sooner than any other oil and gas industry project in the country.

The signing ceremony between NPC and Shell was held in Tehran. This event also marks the first firm step taken by the two companies since the removal of the US-led sanctions on Tehran’s nuclear program.

“We believe that we can have joint projects in the petrochemical field with the National Petrochemical Company,” said Hans Nijkamp, the head of the department for Iran affairs at Shell.

Marzieh Shahdaei, Iran’s deputy oil minister and CEO of National Petrochemical Company, said that Iran plans to increase its capacity from over 60 million tons (mt) per year in 2016 to 100 mt in 2020 and then to about 160 mt in 2025.