Special Report Contents

• Price drop puts strain on GCC petrochemicals

• The Gulf’s petrochemical sector faces new challenges

• Oman bucks the trend with Liwa Plastics

• Companies plan investments in Iran’s petrochemicals sector

• Chinese domestic production to slow down GCC exports

• Databank: Petrochemicals production and construction forecast

The Gulf Petrochemical & Chemical Association (GPCA) has 34 full members and 206 associate members. The full members account for 95 per cent of chemicals output from the Arabian Gulf.

What will be the impact of the removal of sanctions on Iran?

Developments in Iran won’t have an immediate impact. Iran has the potential to grow its oil and petrochemicals industries over the next decade or so, but it is lagging behind in advanced technology and the required infrastructure.

I think Iran and Iraq are both wildcards, but I don’t think either will have an immediate impact.

How have constrained gas supplies affected the market?

In the past, the GCC’s petrochemicals industry was entirely driven by the availability of gas. The supply of gas has become constrained because of the growth in demand from other industries that are energy-intensive, such as power, water desalination and metal processing.

Of course with population growth in our region, power and water are critical so they have taken their share of the resources.

This has increased the appeal of mixed feedstock facilities and plants that use naphtha as a feedstock. The industry has shifted.

Do you see domestic consumption of petrochemicals increasing?

The key downstream industry for the petrochemicals industry is the automobile industry and we don’t have an automobile industry.

There are some planned projects, but they are still small and will not be able to absorb the domestically produced petrochemicals.

The other two key industries are electronics and construction, and while the Gulf has a significant construction industry, the electronics sector remains small.

As a developing region, the GCC will remain a net exporter, although we will see new downstream industries created over coming years.

Is the GCC targeting new markets?

Our eyes are set on Africa. The continent has great potential and we are well-positioned to capture a growing market share in that region.

We are already seeing encouraging signs in our fertiliser statistics. More of our fertiliser products are now destined for the Africa markets. The same is true of plastics.

There are some challenges associated with logistics within Africa, but it remains a growth market with great potential for the GCC.