TEHRAN Oct. 20 (Shana) � Iran supports foreign direct investments to develop its petrochemical industry, said director of plan in the National Petrochemical Company (NPC).
�Thanks to availability of the feed, foreign companies can invest in Iran�s petrochemical industry,� Marzieh Shahdaei said at the Iranian Petroleum and Energy Club 2015 Congress and Exhibition (IPEC 2015) which opened here on Monday.
The three-day conference which is started one day after formal end to anti-Iran sanctions is going to discuss the theme Post-Sanctions Iran: An Open Door to Oil and Gas Investment Opportunities.

Chief executives and policy makers in the field of energy and delegates from OPEC, GECF and IEA are taking part in the conference.
She said direct investment tops on the NPC�s agenda and added the company is in good shape in terms of non-oil exports.

Iran produced more than 23.6 million tons of petrochemical products in the first half of the current year (March 21 � September 23) despite of major restoration work underway in the units, an NPC official said.
�The biannual output registered a five percent increase compared to the similar period last year,� Ali-Mohammad Bosaqzadeh, company�s production control director, told Shana on Sunday.

Bosaqzadeh also estimated that Iran�s upstream and downstream petrochemical industry needs 70 billion dollars of investment to help tapping its massive 33.6 tcm gas reservoirs.
The government of Iran supports development of the petrochemical industry in the bid to encourage economic growth and lead the country out of recession, said minister of industry, mines, and trade.

Ministry of Petroleum will organize two conferences to introduce Iran�s new oil contracts in Tehran and London on November 21-22 and February 22-24 respectively.
Iran�s petrochemical industry has the advantage of massive hydrocarbon reservoirs in the country which serve as the gas and liquid feed of the industry. Its products are also highly value added and help the country to take distance with crude sale of hydrocarbon material.

By SHANA