$18 billion in unused investment and gas cutoffs at 12 petrochemical plants; a memorandum of understanding was signed to save the petrochemical industry from the gas crisis

According to Energy Press, today, January 5, the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the National Petrochemical Industries Company and Zagros Petrochemical Company was held in order to use the capacity of this petrochemical company in the campaign to reduce gas and electricity consumption by 10 percent in the domestic and commercial sectors.
Injecting 8 billion dollars of foreign exchange into the country’s economy by the petrochemical industry
At the beginning of the ceremony, Matin Didari, CEO of Zagros Petrochemical Company, expressed concern about the gas imbalance in the petrochemical industry and emphasized the need for serious measures in the field of culture building and energy consumption management.
Referring to the vital role of the petrochemical industry in the country’s economy and the injection of 8 billion dollars of foreign exchange into the NIMA system this year, he stated: A 10 percent reduction in gas consumption, in addition to reducing pressure on the country’s energy resources, can lead to an increase in the share of gas allocated to the petrochemical industry and, as a result, an increase in production and foreign exchange.
Didari emphasized: With a 10 percent reduction in consumption from 650 million cubic meters, over 60 million cubic meters will definitely return to the industry.
Gas supply to 12 petrochemical plants has been cut off
Following the ceremony, Ahmad Mahdavi Abhar, Secretary General of the Petrochemical Industry Employers’ Association, while appreciating the measures taken, considered this memorandum an important step towards resolving the gas imbalance and improving energy efficiency.
He pointed to the three main strategies of investment, saving, and efficient consumption to solve this challenge and announced the petrochemical industry’s full readiness to participate in this project.
Emphasizing the importance of building a culture in the field of efficient energy consumption, Mahdavi Abhar pointed to the successful example of Zagros Petrochemical as the largest methanol producer in the country and said: Cutting off gas supply to 12 petrochemical plants is an inappropriate image of a country rich in gas resources. By implementing similar projects in other provinces and investing in the development of new gas resources, we can overcome this problem.
He also criticized the delay in implementing the Petrofarhang and Akhtar contracts to produce 30 million cubic meters of gas and 10 other memorandums of understanding with the Ministry of Oil to produce 220 million cubic meters of gas, as well as the inaction of the Ministry of Oil in this regard, and called for accelerating the implementation of these projects. Mahdavi Abhar, referring to the important role of power plants in gas consumption, emphasized the need to convert power plants to combined cycles to increase efficiency and reduce fuel consumption.