While refineries around the world have achieved a high level of complexity by relying on new technologies and extensive investments, Iranian refineries are still significantly behind global standards. Morteza Behrouzifar, an energy expert, says that our problem is not just a lack of capital; even if we assume that we have sufficient financial resources to implement projects, there is still no possibility of serious upgrading of refineries due to limited access to modern technology and equipment.

The manager of the first refinery of the South Pars Gas Complex announced the start of major repairs to the refinery with the technical and support teams fully prepared.

Gachsaran Petrochemical, a huge project with a billion-dollar investment that was supposed to produce one million tons of ethylene annually and feed four other petrochemical units, was halted and suffered losses after its early launch, despite the 13th government’s haste to complete it, due to lack of coordination in planning and lack of consumers. The petrochemical plant had drawn criticism from the National Petrochemical Industries Company, claiming that NPC was one of the factors that put Gachsaran in this situation. However, Saeed Baghbani, the director of production control at the Petrochemical Industries Company, denies these claims.

Announcing an increase of 35 million tons in the petrochemical industry capacity by implementing 66 development plans in the Seventh Development Plan, the Planning and Development Manager of the National Petrochemical Company said: "In addition to increasing production capacity, completing the value chain with the aim of reducing dependence on exports of basic products is targeted in this plan."

Despite its high capacity for producing propane and propylene, Iran has been unable to produce polyurethane, a key material in various industries, and its heavy dependence on imports has revealed one of the missing links in the petrochemical value chain. According to Mohsen Ansari, a petrochemical expert, completing this chain could be a golden opportunity for economic development and reducing foreign dependence.

In 1404, Engineer Zahir Heydarinejad and the management team of Kermanshah Petrochemical Company took a different path with a strategic decision: targeted pre-sale of July, August and September products in export markets. This strategy not only solved the problem of warehouse capacity, but also gave the company the power to shift its focus from “selling under pressure” to “selling with maximum profit” in trade negotiations.

Amirkabir Petrochemical Complex, one of Iran’s industrial companies in the Bandar-e-Imam Petrochemical Special Economic Zone, plays a key role in supplying raw materials to domestic industries and exports with an annual production of more than 1.5 million tons of petrochemical products. Established in 1998, the complex is today known as one of the most diverse polyethylene producers in the country.

While value chain development has become a common buzzword in Iranian petrochemical industry literature, many projects, including MTO and MTP, are still stalled at the raw material sales stage. Petrochemical expert Mohsen Ansari considers “the need for large investments” and “feed instability” to be the most important reasons for the failure of these projects. According to him, in the current situation, the “ethylene” and “propylene” chains have the greatest potential for real completion in Iran and more focus needs to be placed on their development.

Maroon Petrochemical Company is one of the largest petrochemical production complexes in Iran, which was established on February 1, 1998, with the aim of implementing the Seventh Olefin Project.

While Bu Ali Sina Petrochemical Company managed to produce beyond its nominal capacity in 1403, Mohammad Ahmadzadeh, the company's CEO, announced the company's plans to surpass this record, increase the share of foreign exchange sales, and focus on producing high value-added products. Bu Ali's strategy is a combination of infrastructure development, export portfolio diversification, and agility in feedstock supply.