The Arabian Gulf's petrochemical industry is at a key watershed, which, if traversed with foresight and wisdom, will be transformational and profitable, a top Saudi Aramco executive told attendees this week at the first annual Gulf Petrochemical and Chemical Association (GPCA) Forum. "These are challenging times for both our industries, both on a global and a regional scale," said Khalid A. Al-Falih, senior vice president of Industrial Relations. "But there are also exciting opportunities." The forum, titled "Developments and Opportunities in the GCC's Petrochemical and Chemical Sectors," and held recently, was organized to assess issues affecting the rapidly growing regional chemical and petrochemical industries. Organized by the newly formed GPCA, the forum attracted more than 400 participants, including industry decision-makers, company leaders and other key stakeholders. Represented by speakers, exhibitors and participants were the region's most dynamic and successful entities. Al-Falih, applauded the industry's past achievements and future plans, saying that the industry has already succeeded in establishing a global hub for the manufacturing of primary petrochemicals and that the currently planned capacity expansion is the largest in the history of the Gulf's petrochemical industry, with capacity expected to nearly double. But that's still a relatively modest amount. When the expansion is in place, he said, "This total output capacity will only be a fraction of world production - about 22 percent of global ethylene." He stressed corporate responsibility as chemical and petrochemical companies expand in the future. "I believe we have an obligation to our countries, to our people and to our planet to ensure that growth does not come at the expense of health, the environment and safety," he was quoted as saying in a report carried by Saudi Aramco's web-site. --MORE
