Page 39 - IRANRptMar20

9.0​ Industry & Sectors 9.1 ​Sector news
9.1.1​ Oil & gas sector news
The Iranian petrochemical industry needs $30bn in investment to complete projects and must raise this money “from small domestic investors” according to Iran’s oil minister, Radio Farda has reported. Bijan Namdar Zanganeh noted that foreign investment in Iran has dried up since the US reimposed sanctions on the country in 2018.
Petrochemical exports is still seen as a promising area for Iran as, while the US has concentrated on attempting to drive Iranian crude oil exports to zero, it faces a much harder task in stopping flows of petrochemicals as the petrochemical market is complex and tracing the origins of its great range of products is a tough ask. However, with vastly reduced revenues from oil exports, Iran has far less capital to invest in both its oil and petrochemical industries.
Speaking at an oil industry conference in Tehran, Zanganeh said that $10-12bn worth of petrochemical projects nationwide have been finalised but that others need planning and resources, Fars reported.
He also reportedly painted a disparaging picture of investments in the oil industry, saying the sector needed annual infusions of $25bn simply to ensure its productivity. Without investments, the whole chain of oil production “will face difficulties”, he was cited as saying.
Issuing bonds, borrowing from domestic banks and using Iran’s foreign currency reserves were three options for financing the revitalisation and development of Iran’s oil and petrochemical sectors, the minister added.
Most Iranian petrochemical companies are either directly or indirectly controlled by government state entities.
Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov met with the US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Kurt Donnelly on February 27 to announce a push to finish the so-called Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), APA reported.
The US is fully supportive of Azeri efforts to become a counterpole to Russian imports of gas to Europe. However, the recent Trump administration has cooled off in its overall interest in the project so as not to irk Moscow.
The minister said the gas corridor is nearing its final stages, with it expected to be fully completed before winter 2020.
The minister said: "The US has shown its commitment to both the South Gas Corridor and all regional and global energy projects initiated by Azerbaijan." The sides discussed the expansion of the SGC to the Balkans, something countries including Ukraine have been open to, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated.
The SGC project envisages the transportation of gas produced by the pipeline to Turkey and Europe within the second phase of the Shah Deniz gas condensate field operation in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.
The SGC project comprises the Shah Deniz-2 project, the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion, the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) built in Turkey, the main pipeline of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to the south of Italy through the bottom of Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea components.
39​ IRAN Country Report​ March 2020 www.intellinews.com