GPCA ‘06: NOCs to continue adding value to petchem

16 December 2006 11:25  [Source: ICIS news]

DUBAI (ICIS news)--National Oil Companies (NOCs) have been playing a crucial role in the expansion of the Gulf’s petrochemical industry, including proactively addressing concerns regarding availability of feedstocks, a senior industry official said on Saturday.

In a changing environment, where the region’s industry is evolving from its conventional structure focused on the development of gas-based resources, NOCs have ensured the sustained growth of the petrochemicals industry, said Khalid Al-Falih, senior vice president, industrial relations, Saudi Aramco.

Al-Falih said that measures adopted by NOCs to develop the region’s petrochemical industry included leveraging available gas-based feedstocks such as ethane with alternative feedstocks, including refinery-based ones, and integrating refineries with petrochemical plants.

Speaking at the first Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) conference, he said that Aramco’s Ras Tanura Integrated Refinery project was a good example of refinery-petrochemical integration, which would achieve maximum synergies. 

Such strategies would not only alleviate some of the issues related to availability of gas feedstocks but would also provide diversity in the product slate, he said.

This, in turn, could provide the desired impetus for development of sustainable clusters of high value added products for the export markets, he added.

Al-Falih said that the role of NOCs in the Gulf’s petrochemicals industry was changing from that of mere suppliers of feedstock to active participants, helping to develop a more vigorous and diverse petrochemicals industry.

By: Anuradha Rao
+65 6780 4359

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