MNA � Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zanganeh said Sun. that the oil industry has the capability to double the country�s petrochemical output capacity to $40 billion.

�We can double the country�s petrochemical output capacity to $40 billion, and this is completely doable,� the Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Sunday while appearing before the Parliament to answer an MP�s questions.

He said the oil ministry back in 1997 when he took the helm could barely produce $1 billion worth of petrochemicals; now, the production has reached $20 billion, he added.

He maintained that about $5.5 billion of the current production capacity is distributed domestically for the purchase of raw materials for petrochemical factories.

Zanganeh further stressed that the status of Iran�s oil technology is incomparable to how it was 20 years ago, saying �at the moment, we can build even the most complex oil platforms, and this progress will definitely continue.�