Qasemi made the remark at a press conference held on the sidelines of the inaugural ceremony of the Eighth Iran Plast International Exhibition on Sunday.
Iran's vast natural gas resources have changed the petrochemical sector into one of the most important industries of the country, the Iranian oil minister said.
Qasemi noted that a major part of petrochemical industry is privatized in Iran, adding that the governmental section is not operating in the downstream sector.
He also said that Iran Plast International Exhibition, in which 70 foreign companies have taken part, can help demonstrate Iran’s capabilities in the industry.
Qasemi went on to say that Islamic Republic of Iran’s natural gas production from South Pars gas field will hit 1.4 billion cubic meters (bcm) per day by March 2016, adding that the current output of the gas field, which is located in Assaluyeh in the southern Iranian province of Bushehr, stood at 600 million cubic meters (mcm) per day.
The minister added that the field is also producing 400,000 barrels of gas condensate per day, which is expected to exceed one million barrels a day in coming years.
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