TEHRAN August 4 (Shana)--Iran will see its petrochemical output grow as 7 new petrochemical projects are expected to come on-stream by the end of the current Iranian calendar year to March 2016, a senior petrochemical official said.

Marziyeh Shah-Daei, a member of the board of directors at National Petrochemical Company (NPC), said the projects are among 17 highly prioritized petrochemical projects in Iran which are expected to add more than 4mt to the country's production capacity by the year end.

Takht Jamshid Mahshahr, high-density polyethylene production unit in western Lorestan province and sulfuric acid production unit in north western city of Urmya are to be launched in the next few months, she said.

Furthermore, Kavian II, Ammoniac and Urea 7 in Marvdasht, south of Iran, MEG production unit in Morvarid Petrochemical Plant and Mahabad polyethylene production unit are other projects which will become operational during the second half of the current Iranian year.

The projects have developed by an investment of 1.7b euros and IRR16.8t, and will be ready to process petrochemical by the end of the year.

She further said phase 2 of West Ethylene pipeline will feed the petrochemical plants on its way from the natural gas recovered at South Pars phases.

The second phase of West Ethylene Pipeline is close to coming on-stream, Shah-Daei said in April.

The pipeline is expected to deliver ethylene to Mahabad Petrochemical Plant as feedstock.

She said that the pipeline would provide feedstock to all petrochemical plants on its way.

The second phase of the pipeline is 585 kilometers, stretching from Kermanshah to Mahabad.

West Ethylene Pipeline has the capacity to carry 3.5 million tons of ethylene.

By SHANA