Iranian petroleum minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh says NPC is expanding its capacities and plans to have a greater presence in the global petrochemical marketplace. This, he says, requires scientific management which is equipped and supported with state-of-the-art know-how.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the beginning of the second stage of the EMBA program for NPC staff members, Zanganeh said: "We must upgrade the management science and technology in the country so as to meet our organizational targets concurrent with far-reaching international developments."
University of Calgary and the Tehran based Sharif University of Technology are organizing and conducting an EMBA program for some 100 senior NPC experts. The program consists of a total of 80 credit hours of course work. At the first stage, 40 credit hours consisting of several prerequisite and required courses were covered.



The minister urged NPC to organize a masters degree program for project management in collaboration with local and foreign universities in a bid to acquire today's latest management know-how.
He said, "Underground resources, including oil and gas, are not our future wealth, rather; skilled human resources are our main asset and wealth."

NPC's export revenues for the nine months to 21 December 2003 reached $857m showing a growth of 33 per cent over the corresponding period in 2002. The volume of exports rose by 16 per cent to 3.5m tonnes. Export revenues are expected to reach $1.2bn in the current Iranian fiscal year ending on 19 March 2004. NPC's revenues are foreseen to reach $3.6bn by the end of the next Iranian year on 19 March 2005, of which exports will account for $1.9bn.
Meanwhile, nine-month output jumped to 10.4m tonnes up by 7 per cent over the result of corresponding period in 2002.

In a bid to handle marketing an exodus of products from the NPC's under-construction projects, PCC has increased the number of its distribution agents abroad to 28. The new agents are located in Sudan, England, Holland, Syria and Lebanon. The agents distributes the products in Europe, Far East, Africa, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf region, the CIS countries, India, Pakistan and Turkey.

PCC has signed contracts to supply 4m tonnes of products for the 2004 to the international markets. The products include liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), naphtha, heavy end, DPG, 1&3 butadiene, propylene, paraxylene, benzene and methanol. The products will be supplied to some European, Korean, Japanese, Pakistani and Saudi end-user companies and trading houses.
PCC has plans at hand to conclude further long-term supply contracts for the coming years up to 2007. PCC has already started premarketing for products like ammonia, which will be available for export from Razi 3^rd ammonia project by 2005.




NPC and the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which focuses on strengthening cooperation between the two companies. It aims to investigate the possibilities for joint investment in petrochemical projects in Iran and India. The two companies decided to expand their cooperation against a backdrop of plans to augment their respective strengths in petrochemical markets.
According to the document, the parties are eager to have further discussions to develop cooperation for petrochemical projects identified in Iran, India and possibly other countries. They have agreed to explore the possibility of Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. in an existing gas-based olefin complex including downstream polyolefins in Iran. They have also decided to explore the likelihood of the Indian company's participation in a new gas-based petrochemical project in Iran.

NPC wishes to express its thanks and appreciation for the outpouring of compassion, words of sympathy, emergency relief and donations in the aftermath of the massive earthquake on December 26 in the town of Bam.



We do appreciate and are very grateful for the impressive international expression of solidarity and overwhelming generosity and offers of assistance for the victims and survivors of the quake.