TEHRAN, Nov. 14 (Shana) � A senior Iranian petrochemical official said tapping of National Development Bank of Iran (NDFI) has started to open a letter of credit (L/C) for financing Siraf Petrochemical project.

Marziyeh Shah-daei, project manager of Iran's National Petrochemical Company (NPC), told Shana that financing of the project has started by dipping into the NDFI.

She said 18 petrochemical projects have been handpicked to be introduced to China for financing, of which Sabalan, Lordegan, Bushehr and Masjid-Soleiman along with the rest are being considered for financing.

One of the highly prioritized projects is Kaveh Petrochemical Plant in Dair Port which will be the world's biggest methanol producer. The project has so far been funded by domestic finances and is hoped to become operational by 2016.
Given the high capacity of this project, there is good potential for the development of downstream industries.

Methanol projects in Iran need budget allocation from the NDFI.
Once operational, Kaveh methanol plant will produce 7,000 tons of methanol a day.

By SHANA