Find added value

DUBAI -- The world’s macro-economic realities mean that the chemical industry in the Arabian Gulf must push ahead with investments to innovate and add value to their products, according to the UAE energy minister.

In his keynote speech at the 10th Annual GPCA Forum of the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) this morning, Suhail Mohammed Faraj Fares Al Mazroui urged GCC petrochemicals’ producers to continue to invest and innovate in their businesses to ensure the continued growth of the industry.

Celebrating its 10th edition this year, the Annual GPCA Forum is GPCA’s flagship event and a key feature on the global chemical industry agenda, providing a crucial knowledge sharing and networking platform for regional and global stakeholders. Over 2,000 petrochemical and chemical industry leaders are attending this year’s edition, held under the theme ‘Building on Achievements: Enabling Continued Success in the Changing Chemical Landscape’.

"Leadership in petrochemicals is a crucial area for the GCC, serving as a catalyst for economic diversification and innovation, and making people’s lives better all over the world," Mr. Al Mazrouei said, adding, "I believe that keeping an open business mindset is fundamental to developing new ways to add value to the industry."

The energy minister told the audience of industry leaders and representatives of some of the region’s largest petrochemicals and chemicals companies that the industry must build on existing synergies within the region and strengthen their understanding of the needs of global customers to broaden their innovations beyond research and development. GCC countries must also continue enhancing their infrastructure to create a strong multiplier effect on the broader economy.

"Having successfully built up scale and share of the global market over the last 50 years, we have now reached a very interesting inflection point. Global macro-economic realities mean that the industry must push ahead with its investments to innovate and move even further up the value chain," he pointed out. "When I look across the region, I see companies and executives who fully understand the challenges, and are making all the right moves to drive the industry forward."

Al Mazrouei praised Borouge and other GCC petrochemical leaders for leading innovations that will drive their long-term sustainable growth into the future.

The GCC’s petrochemicals exports account for an 8.5 per cent share of the global market, with production capacity reaching above 136 million tons in 2014. While Saudi Arabia continues to be the leading producer of chemicals in the region, other GCC countries, with the exception of Bahrain, are steadily expanding their production as well, with the largest growth taking place in the UAE and Oman during the past decade.

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