Iran should not only reclaim the lost oil and petrochemical share, but also enter lucrative markets, Hassan Khosrojerdi, the head of Petrochemical, Gas and Oil Exporters' Union, said Monday.

Referring to Iran's limited production capacity, the official said, "We will not be able to play a key role in the market unless we enhance both the quantity and quality of our production to make a difference in this sector. Furthermore, construction of modern refineries with higher capacities will help improve midstream and downstream industries which, in turn, help boost exports," ILNA reported.

"Given the current production capacity, standing at 60 million tons of products, we can dominate only 15% of the untapped markets," he added.

Khosrojerdi said European firms have lost both domestic and international customers, so it is possible to become a market leader in such states by cooperating with European enterprises.

"We should take advantage of lower feedstock price and skilled workforce in Iran, which are the biggest challenges facing Europeans. The rise in feedstock price has no effect on our competitive prices," he said.

By Financial Tribune