“Due to the interest by South Africa to expand ties with Iran, a delegation is planned to travel to Pretoria to continue talks on marketing hydrocarbon products, and joint investment in oil, gas, refinery and petrochemical projects,” Deputy Oil Minister for Petrochemicals Abbas Sha’ri-Moqaddam said to Shana.
“South Africa has frequently announced its need to LNG, naphtha, crude oil, and liquid gas,” he said.
Iran’s petrochemical industry is on the way of development, he added, new investments can inject new blood to this field.
The deputy minister also said foreigners are interested in returning to Iran’s lucrative petrochemical industry. “Iran is a land of opportunity for them. Estimates show a minimum 20 percent capital return rate for investment in Iran’s petrochemical projects.”
According to Sha’ri-Moqaddam, most of foreign investors are interested in upstream ventures so that when business atmosphere becomes ready, they can also be involved in downstream industries.
“The upstream petrochemical sector needs both capital and modern technology,” he said, adding that during recent talks in Tehran with a visiting South African delegation, the investment and partnership in Iran’s petrochemical industry were discussed.
South Africa has indicated its interest to buy oil from Iran, and has also welcomed forming partnerships with Iran in other energy areas such as refining, petrochemical and LNG industries as well as boosting technology exchange with Iran.
Last April, South African Deputy Energy Minister Thembisile Majola who held negotiations with Iranian officials expressed hope that the ties will boost in all areas including oil, gas and petrochemical industries once western sanctions on Iran are removed.
"By acknowledging Iran's new conditions following the lifting of sanctions, South African energy companies can be encouraged to restore their presence in Iran and prepare for join business with Iranian companies," she said quoted by Shana.
Majola also announced Pretoria's readiness to help open up a new chapter in energy cooperation between South African and Iranian companies, and said transfer of GTL technology and forming joint ventures with Iranian companies are among the areas favored by South African companies.
"We are also willing to import LNG cargoes from Iran," she said.
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