President and CEO of EQUATE Petrochemical Company, Kuwait's first international petrochemical joint-venture, Mohammad Husain, said that despite challenges, Gulf's petrochemical and chemical production was over 140 million metric tons (MT) during 2013.
Husain said: "Those challenges mainly include feedstock shortage, market instability, infrastructure insufficiency and port congestions, in addition to lack of qualified human resources." To address such problems, he suggested: "Overcoming these challenges, through sustainability-based innovation and integration, is an utmost priority for GPCA which groups over 200 companies from around the world." Husain, who is also a GPCA board member, noted, "While in 2013 the Gulf had a 7 percent of the global petrochemical and chemical production, the Gulf's total production capacity is expected to exceed 225 million metric tons during 2020." Husain said that EQUATE's total production capacities, from plants owned and operated by it, exceed 5 million metric tons, including ethylene, polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene glycol, heavy aromatics, benzene, styrene monomer and paraxylene.
"During 2013, the global sales revenue of petrochemicals and chemicals was over USD 4.1 trillion, and more than 2 percent of it belonged to Gulf countries," added Husain.
Commencing production in 1997, EQUATE is the single operator of a fully integrated world-scale manufacturing facility producing over 5 million tons annually of high-quality petrochemical products which are marketed throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.
KUNA
25 November
