The Fourth International Iran Plast Exhibition was opened in Tehran in the presence of Seyed Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, Caretaker of the Ministry of Oil as well as Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, Managing Director of the National Petrochemical Company.

Iran Plast 2005 has been inaugurated at a time when there are serious concerns about the destiny of Iran’s Ministry of Oil and the next meeting of the oil ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) due in Kuwait. Many questions asked by reporters from Hamaneh were indicative of the importance of the event.

The first speaker in the ceremony was Deputy Managing director of Iran’s International Exhibitions Company who noted that 287 foreign companies from 23 countries as well as 397 Iranian companies have taken part in the exhibition and expressed hope that the exposition will be a good opportunity for developing all-out cooperation and signing new contracts as the main achievements of Iran Plast 2005.

Also, the Managing Director of the National Petrochemical Company took to the podium stating that Iran Plast 2005 has grown 30% compared to last year’s exhibition. Nematzadeh stated that 290 foreign and 392 domestic companies have taken part in the exhibition which was at odds with figure produced by the previous speaker. He also said 210 million tons of plastic products are produced in the world per year and added, "The figure will hit 270 million tons by the end of the current decade."

Nematzadeh went on to note that Middle East is not only a main center for production of raw materials, but due to existence of huge gas reserves, it is a hub for end products as well. The official referred to construction of Maroun, Laleh, Arya Sasol, and Jam petrochemical complexes and noted that those projects will boost Iran’s polymer production capacity by about 2.5 million tons up to the next year.

A contract for building olefin plant of the west ethylene pipeline will be signed to supply ethylene at the capacity of 2.4 million tons. Four complexes will be built along the pipeline, each with a capacity of producing 300,000 tons, to produce a total of 1.2 million tons petrochemicals. The projects are to increase Iran’s polymer production to 2.4 million tons.

Further in the ceremony, Caretaker of the Iranian Ministry of Oil noted that continuity in the production chain of petrochemicals plays a decisive role in everyday lives in the modern world. Vaziri Hamaneh expressed hope that completion of petrochemical projects at Pars Special Economic Energy Zone will increase polymer production capacity of the country by 1.5 million tons to a total of four million tons per year.