Saudi Arabia's petrochemicals exports increased 39 percent by value in May from a year earlier because of higher prices and stronger demand from Asia. The Kingdom, the holder of the world's largest oil reserves, shipped petrochemicals valued at SR4.80 billion ($1.28 billion) in May compared with SR3.45 billion a year earlier, according to data from the Department of Statistics and Information. Exports rose 26 percent on a month-to-month basis, the department reported on its website. Petrochemicals accounted for 34 percent of Saudi Arabia's non-oil exports valued at SR13.9 billion in May. Plastics comprised 30 percent of the total, the data showed. The Kingdom reported a 20 percent growth in petrochemicals shipments in April on higher demand from Asia. Companies including Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) exported 2.66 million tons of petrochemicals in April compared with 2.21 million tons in the year-ago period, the Saudi Ports Authority said on its website today. That is similar to the shipments in March and 6.4 percent higher than in February. Saudi Arabia shipped 9.97 million metric tons of petrochemicals from its ports from January through April compared with 9.07 million tons in the year-earlier period, according to the port authority. The Saudi petrochemicals industry is leveraging its advantages in ethane feedstock to expand its Asian markets, with exports, output and production capacity set to continue to expand in 2011. In the first two months of 2011, Saudi Arabia's petrochemicals exports grew 6.8 percent y-o-y to 4.65 million tons. Growth was spurred on by rising demand from Asia and increased local production of ethane feedstock. A rise in ethane output was related to higher oil production with crude up 300,000b/d to 8.7 million b/d in February which resulted in increased associated gas production. Ethane is Saudi Arabia's main petrochemicals feedstock, accounting for at least 75 percent of the total. Saudi Arabia's petrochemicals margins were healthy in 2010. China's annual PE demand is expected to grow by 8-9 percent in 2011 down from 19 percent in 2010, but new capacity will reduce imports by up to 14 percent from the 7.4 million tons imported in 2009.
