BEIRUT, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell signed apreliminary memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran'sNational Petrochemical Company on Sunday for cooperation in thepetrochemical industry, the Iranian oil ministry's news agencySHANA reported.
Hans Nijkamp, the head of the department for Iran affairs atRoyal Dutch Shell, said the signing of the MOU came after monthsof negotiations between the two companies, according to SHANA.
"We believe that we can have joint projects in thepetrochemical field with the National Petrochemical Company," hesaid.
Marzieh Shahdaei, Iran's deputy oil minister and CEO ofNational Petrochemical Company, said that Iran plans to expandits petrochemical output from the current level of 60 milliontons to 160 million tons by 2025, according to SHANA.
Amir-Hossein Zamaninia, a fellow Iranian deputy oilminister, expressed optimism that petrochemical projects betweenthe two companies would be launched soon.
"With the wisdom that we see in the people working in ourcountry's petrochemical industry, without a doubt the projectsof this company will be executed sooner than oil and gasprojects," he said, according to SHANA. (Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
