Frost & Sullivan has said that the gulf petrochemicals manufacturers are well aware of the ‘pressure’ situation that they will see themselves in shortly.
However, Frost & Sullivan recommends the manufacturers in the region to continue working towards the larger goal of making GCC a global petrochemical hub, given the inherent advantages that the region has.
“While shale gas availability will make North American manufacturers give stiff price competition to their GCC counterparts, one cannot ignore the long-term growth opportunities provided my China, India and Africa, all of which are in close proximity to the Middle East. Additionally, huge investments in building, construction and other sectors in the larger Middle East region will also substantially increase in-house consumption of petrochemicals,” says Vishnu Sankaran, Industry Manager and Head, Chemicals & Materials Practice, Middle East & North Africa, Frost & Sullivan.
In the medium to long term, petrochemical manufacturers can weather the “shale gas revolution and European economy slump” storm through rigorous innovation, a sound product diversification plan over and above primary petrochemicals, forging win-win partnerships across the value chain and making the right investments across the globe in opportunity markets says Sankaran.
This is part of Frost&Sullivan’s perspectives for this month (April) on the petrochemical industry. Â
