What trends do you see emerging in the petrochemicals industry, regionally and globally?

We expect robust growth in Saudi Arabia's petrochemical industry in the years to come. SABIC will continue to play a major role in the Kingdom's petrochemical industry, though private-sector participation will also grow.

Globally, we will continue to see a number of long-term trends – principally, the consolidation of the industry into fewer and fewer players. We intend to be one of them. The Middle East has replaced North America as the world's largest net exporter of ethylene and its derivatives. Because of a significant advantage in energy resources, we estimate that by 2010, over 50% of the world's new ethylene capacity will be added by the Arabian Gulf countries alone. The abundance of hydrocarbon resources and the existence of well developed logistics and infrastructure favor future petrochemical growth in the region.

• Category: General
• Last update: 18/12/2006

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