Petchem exports halted to shore up domestic demand
Iran suspended exports of all petrochemical products “until further notice” following US-Israeli attacks on its two main petrochemical hubs in the south earlier this month.
An official directive, issued by Mohammad Mottaqi, director of downstream petrochemical industries development, bans all exports to priorities domestic demand, Tasnim News Agency reported on Wednesday, publishing an image of the document.
“Under the current circumstances and the damage caused by the war and attacks of the American and Zionist enemy against the country, supporting domestic industries and consumers is of very high importance and sensitivity,” Mottaqi said in the written directive addressed to petrochemical plant executives, marked “immediate-urgent.” He instructed companies to return export cargoes that had not yet received customs clearance to the domestic market to prevent shortages of feedstock needed for downstream industries.
The directive also demands that domestic sale prices for petroleum, refining and petrochemical products be “fixed” in line with a Supreme National Security Council order at international levels prevailing before February 28, when the United States and Israel launched the aggression on Iran.
Air strikes over several days hit petrochemical facilities in Mahshahr in the southwestern province of Khuzestan and in Asaluyeh in the southern province of Bushehr, damaging installations at multiple companies.
The National Iranian Petrochemical Co. (NIPC) has not yet issued an estimate of the damage, but the export ban points to a sector hit hard by the attacks.
Iran’s nominal petrochemical production capacity has reached 100 million tons per year, with actual output at around 80 million tons.