Producing petrochemicals is a highly technical business dependent on science and technology and that the world’s largest national oil company is investing in R&D, serves as a shining example to the entire GCC industry as a whole.
Assigning financial resources to R&D is a step in the right direction, but patent grants are also a key innovation indicator of countries moving to support industrial modernisation. A global snapshot of the worldwide chemicals industry shows that the GCC’s petrochemicals industry has some way to go in terms of investing and supporting R&D and innovation to catch up with international benchmarks.
According to data compiled by the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), the global chemicals industry spent $49 billion on R&D in 2012, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year. Investments from European and American companies accounted for nearly half of global expenditure. The chemical industry also filed nearly 200,000 patents in the same time.
In comparison, the GCC petrochemicals industry spent $380 million on R&D in 2012, representing less than 1 per cent of global spending in R&D for the year and filed an estimated 750 patents.
With the current capacity of the GCC petrochemicals industry at 129.2 million tons, and forecasts that it will grow to 134.5 million tons by 2016, the opportunities to invest in R&D are boundless and the only way we as an industry can remain truly competitive.
In addition, the GCC petrochemical industry needs to propagate its innovation capabilities in order to turn all these R&D investments into tangible businesses. Remember, R&D spends money to create knowledge, but it takes innovation to turn this knowledge into money.
Between March 12- 13, 2014, the GPCA will host its first ever Research & Innovation Summit in Dubai with the aim of bolstering support and investment in new technologies and industry innovations.
Experts from leading chemical producers such as:, Evonik, SABIC, Saudi Aramco , Borealis, and Tasnee as well as leading international consultancy firms including McKinsey and PWC combined with the leading academic institutions including MIT from the US and KAUST and KFUPM from Saudi Arabia will share insights and perspective on what strategies and processes have helped companies develop and thrive through R&I.
Specifically the Summit will focus on understanding and valuing why R&I are critical competencies for the GCC chemical industry to become more competitive and be commercially successful, in particular on a global level. It will also aim to create a better understanding of the fundamental differences between Research and Innovation and what it takes to drive them, and it will show ways to drive R&I performance and how to plan for this.
There will be numerous occasions to meet senior managers, competent peers, and top consultants from the chemical industry and discuss common issues in R&I management and learn from each other how to master those in new and better ways.
