How Active Is The Chemical/Petrochemical Market In The Middle East?
  • Dubai, the Middle East's logistics and re-export hub, provides an industry springboard into new and emerging markets, including Iraq, Iran and Libya. The introduction of new free zones and industrial cities gives yet another strong support.
  • With petrochemical facilities in Europe and the US markets facing closure or downsizing, the Gulf countries have emerged as the world's first choice for new facilities and best choice for investment in this industry.
  • The UAE is also investing heavily in its petrochemical industry, which will see its capacity increasing threefold, opening up opportunities in the downstream end-use processing sector.
  • Following the success of its first major petrochemical venture - the Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge) - Abu Dhabi has plans for further expansion.
  • The Gulf countries already produce 30 of the most common intermediate petrochemical products representing seven per cent of world production, which will more than double to 20 per cent by 2010 with Saudi Arabia accounting for almost half that expansion.
  • In the Arabian Gulf region, the cumulative total investment in Chemical and petrochemical sector amounted to 37 billion US dollars by the end of 2002. And another 40 billion dollars of new investments are expected by 2010.
  • SABIC, the Middle East's largest non-oil company, a diversified manufacturing entity, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals is undertaking a $50 billion expansion over the next 15 years, is gearing to meet increasing world demand along with other GCC countries.
  • The continuing expansion and growth in the Middle East has resulted in a need for a more sophisticated logistics and supply chain processes to distribute more than 40 million tons of petrochemicals and plastics to over 70 countries on a plant-to-customer basis.
  • Among the GCC countries, Saudi Arabia is expanding its petrochemical business as planned and the countries of Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE have begun to expand their presence in the field. Oman and Bahrain are planning ethylene projects as well.
  • Ethylene capacity in the Middle East has grown steadily, from 3.9 million metric tons or 5.4 percent of world capacity in 1993 to 9 percent of world capacity in 2003. Various industry estimates suggest that ethylene capacity in the Middle East could reach almost 18 million tons or around 15 percent of global capacity by 2010.