Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Abdolhossein Bayat said that talks with Turkish companies have been accelerated on the joint construction of petrochemical units.
Bayat's remarks came just a day after a meeting between US and Turkish officials over US sanctions on Iran were made public. US officials reportedly came to Ankara to discuss, explain and possibly push Turkey to comply with UN Security Council resolutions.
Also the managing director of National Iranian Petrochemical Company (NIPC), Bayat added that the two countries have already negotiated on building a urea and an ammonia unit in the second site of the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone in Asalouyeh and also on constructing Miyandoab's petrochemical unit, at the capacity of producing 539,000 tons of petrochemical products per annum once it is completed.
Negotiations were previously conducted between the NIPC and a Turkish company on the construction of a methanol unit in Asalouyeh with an annual output of 1.650 million tons, Bayat noted.
The Iranian official added that negotiations have also been held with Turkish firms on the construction of a polyethylene unit in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, with a yearly production capacity of 300,000 tons, without contract.
Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız earlier said Ankara would support private companies making sales to Iran.
Iran hopes to implement 47 petrochemical projects by the end of the fifth Five-Year Economic Development Plan in 2015, adding a total of 43 million tons per year to its capacity. Iran will represent at least 5.3 percent of global petrochemical output and 36 percent of Middle Eastern production once those projects come online.