Petchem exports to Europe continue despite sanctions: Iran

TEHRAN, Nov. 23(MNA)-- Exports of petrochemical products to Europe will certainly continue despite the newly approved sanctions by the U.S., the managing director of the National Petrochemical Company of Iran stated. Under any conditions the exports will continue, the NPC director Abdolhossein Bayat said, adding that Iran has managed to circumvent sanctions of the U.S. and the EU in the past three decades. The United States, Britain and Canada announced fresh plans Monday to sanction Iran's financial and energy sectors in a bid to stop its nuclear program. Statistics show that the Islamic Republic exports annually some $2 billion worth of petrochemicals to 17 European countries. Bayat said in July that the value of Iran's petrochemical exports is expected to reach $14 billion by the end of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2012), according to Press TV. Bayat noted that Iran produced more than 40 million tons of petrochemical goods in the last Iranian calendar year. The country also exported 18 million tons of petrochemical products worth $11.6 billion last year, showing a 26-percent increase compared to two years ago, he added. Iran has expanded the range and volume of its petrochemical products significantly over the past few years, as the NPC has become the second largest producer and exporter of petrochemicals in the Middle East. Iran eyes $12b annual petrochemical exports Iran exported over $8 billion worth of petrochemical products in the first seven months of the current calendar year (began on March 21, 2011), and planned to increase the exports to $12 billion by the end of the year, the National Petrochemical Company’s managing director said. The country exported some 10.5 million tons of petrochemicals to 60 countries in the mentioned period of time, the NPC director Abdolhossein Bayat told . The exports are respectively 11 percent and 34 percent higher than the last year’s figures in terms of weight and value, Bayat added. Bayat said in July that Iran produced more than 40 million tons of petrochemical goods in the last Iranian calendar year. The country also exported 18 million tons of petrochemical products worth $11.6 billion last year, showing a 26-percent increase compared to two years ago, he added. Iran has expanded the range and volume of its petrochemical products significantly over the past few years, as the NPC has become the second largest producer and exporter of petrochemicals in the Middle East.