Royal Dutch Shell signed a preliminary memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran�s National Petrochemical Company on Sunday for cooperation in the petrochemical industry, the Iranian oil ministry�s news agency SHANA reported.

Hans Nijkamp, the head of the department for Iran affairs at Royal Dutch Shell, said the signing of the MOU came after months of negotiations between the two companies, according to SHANA.

"We believe that we can have joint projects in the petrochemical field with the National Petrochemical Company," he said.

Marzieh Shahdaei, Iran�s deputy oil minister and CEO of National Petrochemical Company, said that Iran plans to expand its petrochemical output from the current level of 60 million tons to 160 million tons by 2025, according to SHANA.

Amir-Hossein Zamaninia, a fellow Iranian deputy oil minister, expressed optimism that petrochemical projects between the two companies would be launched soon.

"With the wisdom that we see in the people working in our country�s petrochemical industry, without a doubt the projects of this company will be executed sooner than oil and gas projects," he said, according to SHANA.

By Reuters