Petchem sector prioritizes feedstock supply in post-war recovery
Iran is prioritizing the supply of feedstock to downstream industries and essential consumer goods as it works to restore petrochemical production following recent US-Israeli attacks on key facilities, a senior oil official said on Tuesday.
Hassan Abbaszadeh, CEO of the National Petrochemical Company, said the industry was mobilizing all resources to rapidly rebuild damaged units, return production to stable levels and compensate for shortages of some products.
“Supplying feedstock for downstream industries and essential goods is at the top of the petrochemical sector’s priorities,” he said after a meeting with downstream industry associations, where the latest status of recovery and reconstruction at petrochemical complexes was reviewed.
“Our goal is to ensure there is no concern about meeting essential needs, as the raw materials used in downstream industries to produce goods required by the public must be supplied in a stable manner,” the deputy oil minister added.
Iran suspended exports of all petrochemical products “until further notice” following US-Israeli attacks on its two main petrochemical hubs in the south earlier in April.
Air strikes over several days hit facilities in Mahshahr, in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, and in Asaluyeh, in the southern province of Bushehr, damaging installations at multiple companies. Iran’s nominal petrochemical production capacity had reached about 100 million tons per year, with actual output at around 80 million tons.
While no official figures have been released on the scale of damage, the petrochemical and steel sectors were among the main targets of the attacks.
Abbaszadeh said ensuring stable feedstock supply to downstream industries was a key focus of discussions with industry groups, stressing the sector’s role in completing the value chain, supporting employment and preventing layoffs in production units.
Separately, Saeed Torkaman, chairman of the board of the National Polymer Industries Association of Iran, said on April 20 that some petrochemical units damaged during the conflict had already resumed operations.
“Several industrial units had gone out of production, but industry engineers shortened the reconstruction period at an unbelievable pace, and fortunately some lines have returned to operation,” he said, adding that facilities across the petrochemical value chain — from feedstock to finished products — had been affected.