Iran's deputy oil minister dismisses sanctions as Political Gesture

The US sanctions against 8 Iranian petrochemical plants will not hinder the Iranian petrochemical industry's move towards further development and production, Deputy Oil Minister Abdolhossein Bayat said on Monday. The US blacklisted on Friday eight companies in Iran's petrochemical industry. Most of the companies are private. The petrochemical companies owned or controlled by the Iranian government that are on the Treasury Department list include Bandar Imam Petrochemical Co, Bou Ali Sina Petrochemical Co and Mobin Petrochemical Co. Bayat, who also heads Iran's National Petrochemical Company (NPC), said the sanctions are nothing new and would no way block the Iranian petrochemical industry's path towards growth and development. "Today the country produces more than 60 million tons of various petrochemical products per year which find their way to various destinations across the globe and that is why we are not worried about newly imposed sanctions," he said. According to the NPC official, last year, Iran exported 16 million tons of petrochemical products, worth 12 billion dollars, to 60 countries across the world. He noted that petrochemical industry plans will go ahead on schedule and all the foreign exchange commitments to petrochemical plants will be paid on time. Bayat said Iranian petrochemical plants are run by domestic experts based on updated knowhow of the world and are not dependent on foreigners for their operation. New sanctions have targeted products of some Iranian petrochemical plants including Tabriz petrochemical complex, which its products are consumed inside the country alone, he said. The NPC top executive further said that Iranian petrochemical plants are moving toward completion of chain of value, which means expanding downstream activities, diversification of products, and finding new markets and that is why the world cannot ignore Iran's petrochemical products.