Dow’s Liveris argues for natural gas relief

27 June 2005 00:01  [Source: ICB Americas]

CNI Report

Laura Gilcrest

Dow Chemical Company president and CEO Andrew Liveris last week advocated quick passage of the energy bill pending on the Senate floor.

Speaking at a press conference in the US Capitol regarding the progress of the legislation, Liveris said the soaring price for natural gas “hits us twice,” since Americans are both consumers of the commodity and consumers of chemicals made from it. Liveris notes that in the US, natural gas is “a vital feedstock for our industry.”

Dow strongly supports provisions in the bill that would support the domestic production of natural gas, adds Liveris.

The Dow executive says soaring natural gas costs have been largely responsible for a 10 percent loss in the US chemical industry workforce since 2000.

To control expenses, Liverissays Dow and its competitors in-creasingly are deciding to locate new chemical plants overseas. For example, Dow recently shifted a facility planned for Texas, to Oman in the Middle East.

Last October, Dow announced plans to build an ethylene cracker and polyethylene complex at the Sohar industrial port zone in Oman. The joint venture will be 50 percent owned by Dow and the rest by the Omani government and state oil company.

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