The shift of the global petrochemical industry's centre of gravity to the feedstock-rich Middle East (M-E) is occurring more swiftly than anticipated, as plant after plant comes on-stream in the region, and production falters elsewhere in the world under the recession, according to Chemical Week, co-organizer of the Fourth Annual GPCA Forum place in Dubai Dec. 8-10. Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi will make the opening keynote presentation at the 2009 GPCA Forum. Over the next 5 years, 19 million metric tons per year of ethylene, the key building block for petrochemicals, is scheduled to be added to the production capacity across the Middle East, nearly doubling current capacity and providing extensive raw materials for downstream industries. By 2015, the region will supply one-third of the world's ethylene glycol, used in fibers and anti-freeze; 20 percent of global polyethylene and 13 percent of higher-value polypropylene, Chemical Week said. Saudi Arabia is expected to become the main global center of petrochemicals production and no less than 30 new petrochemical plants are scheduled for completion in 2010 - including mega-projects in Jubail and Yanbu - with another 40 in the planning phase. Other large-scale units are on-stream or starting up in Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Abu Dhabi, and an estimated investment of around $170 billion is envisaged by the year 2015. Middle East's leading petrochemical producers have emerged over the last two decades as bastions of exports to world markets while spawning a wave of industrialization in the region by supplying the raw material for chemicals and polymers. With the continued expansion of the industry across the region, more regional surpluses will be destined for export markets in Asia, Europe and the Americas. “Beyond these basic petrochemicals projects, a new wave of investments in the Gulf region will target specialty chemicals and high-value plastics production, which will add value and will service industrial clusters based on the building blocks provided by the chemical industry,” Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, GPCA secretary general, said. He noted that governments in the region are taking new measures that will further support the product portfolio diversification in the region's petrochemical industry. He cited the example of the Saudi Cluster Program, which is part of the National Industrial Strategy recently launched in Riyadh to nurture value-added industrial manufacturing and development in the Kingdom. He noted that the program's five initial clusters will include automotive, construction, plastic packaging and consumer appliances, all of which will benefit the regional petrochemical industry. The global economy is on the threshold of an upturn.
