SHANA � The CEO of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) said that the Iranian petrochemical industry had been planned to account for 6.2 percent of the global petrochemical output by 2025.

Addressing a gathering of senior petrochemical executives in the northwestern city of Mashad on Tuesday, Behzad Mohammadi said the industry in Iran had continued on its path despite the restrictions caused by the sanctions, adding that investment was the main pillar of smartness and a dynamism in every economy.

He said Iranian petrochemical producers needed to balance their output in order to survive in the intensely competitive market in the world.

56 active petrochemical plants in Iran are now consuming an equivalent of 650,000 b/d of crude oil as feed, he said, adding the number of plants would jump to 83 by 2021, consuming an equivalent of 1.4 mbd of crude oil as feed.

Mohammadi also added that the number of operational plants in the country would climb to 109 by 2025 which would consume an equivalent of 1.7 million barrels per day of crude oil.

The NPC CEO further said that Iran�s annual petrochemical revenue had reached $17 billion from only $200,000 back in 1979, the year the Islamic Revolution became victorious. He also said the sector's revenues would cross 37 billion dollars per year by 2025.