The focus of multinational companies' chemical investment accelerates eastward to Asia and the Middle East

The trend is becoming increasingly evident. The Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East remain key areas for multinational companies' investments. The rapid development of low-cost petrochemical facilities in the Middle East is not only meeting the rising demand from the Asia-Pacific market but also shifting North America's role from a net chemical exporter to a net importer by the end of 2010. The strong demand for petrochemical products in the Asia-Pacific region is reflected in ExxonMobil’s sales figures. In 2007, the company sold about 27 million tons of petrochemical products globally, with 30% coming from Asia—mainly China. To meet this growing demand, ExxonMobil plans to boost its basic petrochemical capacity in Asia and the Middle East by 60%, reaching 8 million tons per year in the coming years. The company predicts that within the next decade, Asia will account for 60% of global petrochemical demand growth, with China alone contributing one-third. By 2015, at least half of global chemical demand is expected to originate from Asia. This surge in demand has driven ExxonMobil to launch several major investment projects in Asia, particularly in China. In March 2007, an integrated joint venture between ExxonMobil, Sinopec, Fujian Province, and Saudi Aramco was established. The project includes an 800,000-ton ethylene cracker, polyethylene and polypropylene plants, and a 700,000-ton/year paraxylene unit. These facilities are expected to start operations in 2009. Shell also entered the Asian market with its 800,000-ton ethylene plant on Wugong Island, Singapore, which began operations in early 2007 and was fully commissioned by 2009. Meanwhile, ExxonMobil’s 1 million-ton/year ethylene plant in Singapore is set to be completed in early 2011. It will include two 600,000-ton/year PE lines, a 450,000-ton/year PP unit, 300,000-ton/year special elastomer capacity, and a 340,000-ton/year pure benzene unit. Additionally, the company plans to expand its carbonyl alcohol plant in Singapore by 125,000 tons per year. Cross-border investments in the Middle East are also on the rise. ExxonMobil and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) have joint ventures in Jubail and Yanbu, aiming for large-scale expansion. They plan to add carbon black and specialty plastics and rubber production facilities, including butyl rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, and thermoplastic polyolefin elastomers, with production expected to begin in 2011. In Qatar, ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum built a 1.3-million-ton/year ethylene cracker, along with downstream units such as 570,000 tons/year LLDPE, 420,000 tons/year LDPE, and 700,000 tons/year ethylene glycol. This project is scheduled to be completed and operational by 2012. In July of last year, South Korea’s Hunan Petrochemical Company and Qatar International Industrial Holdings formed a joint venture in Doha, Qatar, focusing on olefins and derivatives. Hunan Petrochemical invested $390 million, holding 30% of the project, while Qatar International Industrial Holdings owns 70%. The facility, expected to start operations in the second half of 2011, will produce 700,000 tons/year of polypropylene, 600,000 tons/year of styrene monomer, and 220,000 tons/year of polystyrene. Lucite International signed a deal with Saudi Arabian International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) in late May to build a methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, with a capacity of 250,000 tons/year. It is expected to start production in 2011. Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical’s joint venture in Eastern Saudi Arabia, with a 50% stake, is one of the world’s largest new projects. The Ras Tanura Integrated Project, planned for completion between 2012 and 2013, will involve over $15 billion in investment and produce a wide range of petrochemicals, including ethylene, propylene, aromatic hydrocarbons, ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, propylene oxide, propylene glycol, chlor-alkali, vinyl chloride monomer, polyethylene, polyurethane, epoxy resin, polycarbonate, amines, and glycol ethers.

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