TEHRAN (NIPNA)--Head of Iran's National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Abbas Shari-Moqaddam has called on the government to make efforts and take measures to lay the groundwork for welcoming foreign firms in Iran now that the western sanctions are hoped to be lifted following the Vienna deal on Iran's nuclear program.
"We must provide the infrastructure in such a way that things are OK for the return of foreign companies and investors in the petrochemical sector; and this requires numerous qualifications," said the top petrochemical official.
He said the formula for setting the price of feedstock to petrochemical plants must become finalized so the prices become more competitive with other countries.

The NPC chief also called on the government to set the required infrastructures needed for the return of foreign investors in the country's petrochemical sector, and said regulations must become stabilized as well to this end.
"These three steps must be taken for foreign investors to return to the country, otherwise investors shall not be willing to come to Iran because they will not be able to have a prospect for the future of their activities," he said.

Last Tuesday, Iran and the P5+1-Britain, the US, France, China, Russia and Germany - struck a nuclear deal capping 20 months of intensive talks.  Based on the agreement, Iran will dramatically limit its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of western sanctions.

Earlier this week, Shari-Moqaddam hosted a meeting with representatives of two giant petrochemical companies from Germany.

German petrochemical giants BASF and Linde Group entered into talks with the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) for Iran return in the post-sanctions era.

Representatives from the world’s largest chemical producer BASF and industrial gases company Linde Group arrived in Tehran on Sunday.

The companies' representatives came to Tehran as part of 60-member delegation from Germany headed by German Minister of Economy Sigmar Gabriel to resurrect the projects which were put on ice after sanctions were imposed on Tehran in 2011.

Iran's petrochemical sector can absorb over $70b of foreign investment for completing its half-finished projects, said Shari-Moqaddam in the meeting.

He said Iran's petrochemical production capacity stands at 60 million tons of different products annually which can cross 180mt/y once all the projects are finalized in the country.

"NPC has defined 100 projects so far, pending financing which could come from investment by German companies," said the Iranian official during the meeting.

The National Petrochemical Company (NPC) also has plans to talk with French and Dutch companies in the coming weeks.

Last Tuesday, Iran clinched a nuclear deal with world powers which is expected to bring Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbing some of its nuclear activities.

By SHANA