APLA '07: 27th meeting to open in Argentina

15 November 2007 17:56  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--The 27th Annual Meeting of the Latin American Petrochemical Association (APLA) will open on Saturday in Buenos Aires, according to event organisers.

The 17-20 November meeting at the Hilton Hotel in Buenos Aires will gather the region’s top industry executives for an annual encounter to meet and discuss business and fundamental market factors for the year ahead.

“This annual meeting has proved to be the right scenario to develop business and to enhance personal contacts with manufacturing companies, suppliers and customers of the petrochemical and chemical industry, not only from Latin America but also from the whole world,” APLA said.

The discussions will focus on feedstock issues, global climate, trade with Asia, the global economy and new players in the industry such as equity funds and investment banks.

Speakers at the event include, among others, Argentine economist Ricardo Hector Arriazu, Craig Whitley of Purvin & Gertz from the US, president Jose Lima de Andrade Neto of Petrobras Quimica (Petroquisa), Theo Walthie of Walthie Consultants, president Jose Luis Testa of DuPont in Argentina, Latin American business director of hydrocarbons and energy Diego Ordonez of Dow Latin America and managing director Alasdair Nisbet of Lazard.

While Latin America has enjoyed strong economic growth overall in recent years, which has raised domestic demand for chemical and petrochemical products as well as strengthened the local industry’s capacity to meet rising global demand, logistical and political barriers remain to be overcome before the region’s ample supplies of feedstock are fully available for the industry.

Brazil’s announcement this November of a discovery of 5bn-8bn bbl of oil and gas in the Tupi field of the Santos basin will launch the country into the list of the top 10 oil producers in the world.

Once developed, these reserves will provide the strategic basis for Brazil’s petrochemical industry, which is still largely dependent on imported liquid feeds, to begin taking full advantage of natural gas for cracking.

This discovery, along with the recent consolidation of Brazil’s petrochemical industry, will position state-owned Petrobras as an important supplier of base petrochemicals in the region, and make Braskem - Latin America’s largest producer - a truly competitive global company.

Venezuela is also rapidly developing its own petrochemical industry, backed by firm support from the federal government.

State-run PDVSA and the petrochemical division Pequiven will continue to play a vital role in the ongoing “petrochemical revolution” in Venezuela, which seeks to expand the nation’s production capacity through investments of some $20bn (€13.6bn) in the next five years.

The investments are needed - currently Venezuela’s petrochemical producers can’t supply enough plastics to satisfy the explosive growth in local demand.

Mexico too faces its challenges with state-run Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), which supplies feedstock to the industry.

Currently the country is undergoing substantial regulatory changes with new tax laws and political pressure to revitalize the industry, with private companies such as Mexichem fast becoming major regional participants.

Argentina remains an important participant in the regional industry, although local producers face persistent difficulties with energy and natural gas supplies in the near term.

Politically, the country remains active with a recent complaint filed at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against Europe’s Reach policies over chemical trade. It is also emerging into a powerhouse for biodiesel.

Colombia and Peru are gaining importance within the industry due to the large amount of natural gas feedstock waiting to be developed. As these reserves are made available, these two countries have the potential to become important producers and exports, with access to both coasts of North and South America.

On Friday there will be two other important industry events that will coincide with the APLA meeting.

ICIS Insight Asia will hold a one-day seminar at the Sofitel Madero Hotel in Buenos Aires that will discuss the potential of emerging markets.

Building on the strengths of the independent ICIS presence within the global chemical industry, panelists will provide a critical overview of the current challenges and opportunities. ICIS will also host a hospitality suite at the Hilton during the APLA meeting.

Also on Friday, Nexant will hold a one-day seminar at the Hilton Hotel in Buenos Aires on optimising performance in a period of strong profitability through 2009.

The seminar will focus on the global wave of M&A as a sign of growth and fundamental market factors for the next two years, with a view toward how to face the likely downturn following the boom.

($1 = €0.68)

By: John Waggoner
+1 713 525 2653

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