The minister reminded that Lavan hosts Iran’s big gas and oil fields, and underlined that Iranian companies will turn the island into a major petrochemical hub.
Qassemi said Iran’s seventh gasline has reached Chabahar zone in Sistan and Baluchestan province, and “the creation of the country’s third petrochemical hub has started in this zone by the investments of the state welfare organization, armed forces and private sector contractors".
Last month, Qassemi pointed to Assalouyeh and Mahshahr as Iran's current petrochemical hubs, and said, "The country plans to build several petrochemical hubs in Chabahar region", adding that Lavan would also turn into an Iranian petrochemical hub in the near future.
Also last month, Managing-Director of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Abdolhossein Bayat said that new petrochemical hubs will be created in the country, adding that Iran will become Middle East's biggest petrochemical producer in the near future.
"We intend to launch new petrochemical hubs (in the country), particularly in Chabahar (special economic zone)," Bayat said.
He pointed to the industrial and economic developments in Eastern and Southeastern Iran as the main reasons for setting up petrochemical hubs in the country, and said that Iran will become the biggest petrochemical producer in the Middle East soon.
Bayat said that the new Chabahar hub will add 15mln tons to the country's total petrochemical production.
"The most important achievement of this new petrochemical hub will be reducing the cost of petrochemical exports to India and China," he added.
He noted that nearly 60 countries, mainly from South and Southeast Asia, are customers of Iran's petrochemical products.
"Last year, foreign countries increased their demand for a variety of (Iranian) petrochemical products which is indicative of the significance of Iran's petrochemical industry at the international level," Bayat said.
He said that Iran plans to establish three new petrochemical hubs in the near future.
