SHANA -- The Deputy Minister of Petroleum for Petrochemical Affairs said Iran�s propylene output would reach 3 million tons per year once new projects come online in the country.

According to the National Petrochemical Company (NPC), Behzad Mohammadi noted the policy of increasing the capacity of propylene production to 3 million tons per year, and said: �The current production of propylene is about 980,000 tons per year. Statistical studies show that we now face a shortage of propylene in the country at around 200,000 tons and by 1404 (2025), the deficit will be 700,000 tons.�

He said that with the production of propylene, the downstream industries could be expanded with more attractiveness.

�Plans have been devised to enhance propylene production capacity of the country by 2025 by consuming surplus methanol output by using methanol to propylene (MTP) method,� he added.

Mohammadi said that with easy access to propylene, construction of petrochemical projects in the central regions of the country could be facilitated. "These projects could include the production chains in downstream projects.�

The CEO of the National Petrochemical Company stated that propulsion projects were being implemented in four axes: methanol, propylene, ethylene and benzene.

Mohammadi, noting the concentration of methanol units in southern parts of the country, said gas to propylene (GTPP) had been defined in northern parts of the country, instead.