Total Plans $2 Billion Investment in Iran
France’s Total is planning to invest up to $2 billion in Iran’s petrochemical industry, according to local media reports. Tehran-based Press TV quotes the managing director of Iran’s Persian Gulf Holding Company, Adel Salimnejad, as saying Total will invest in an olefins project, with a deal likely to be signed by the end of the current Iranian calendar year – Mar. 20, 2017.
The energy and petrochemicals giant has signed several deals with Iran this year, including a Memorandum of Understanding with Iranian state-owned group National Petrochemical Company (NPC) for a petrochemical complex.
The French group is one of many other international companies lining up to invest in the Middle East country after sanctions were lifted, unfreezing billions of dollars of assets and allowing foreign investors to return. Earlier this month, major oil and chemicals company Shell signed a letter of intent (LOI) with NPC to explore potential areas of cooperation.
Salimnejad said Total has been studying Iran’s petrochemical sector in recent months, disclosing that the group has already picked a project to develop, and a final agreement will be signed accordingly. He also revealed that a second major deal will be signed with another global energy company in the next few months.
Iranian officials have previously stated that the country, which had around 63 million t of installed petrochemical capacity in 2015, will need to increase production to 130 million t/y by 2020, requiring a total investment of $52 billion – most of which they said should come from foreign firms. Plans forsee raising Iran’s petrochemical production to 180 million t in 2025.
