GCC petrochemical firms urged to focus on supply chain

Muscat: With Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) tripling its production capacity between 2004 and 2015, petrochemical producers in the region should focus on supply chain efficiency in order to retain export market share, said the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), ahead of the Supply Chain Conference in May.
Regional chemical output in plastics, fertilisers and other products are primarily destined for overseas markets. In 2015, about 80 per cent or 70.6 million tonnes of petrochemicals were exported.
“In just over a decade, the GCC’s petrochemical industry has expanded its capacity from 38 million tonnes in 2004 to 142.1 million tonnes in 2015,” said Dr Abdulwahab Al Sadoun, secretary general of GPCA.
“At 9.5 per cent per year, this production growth is second only to China, with more and more diversified products being produced in the GCC. As capacity expansions continue, and an estimated 40 additional products are introduced from GCC petrochemical producers till 2020, the supply chain will have to adjust.”
“We can already see the direct impact of product expansion on the supply chain, resulting in the emergence of business- to- business style logistics industry that includes road, shipping and port facilities, with further expansion plans in railways in the near future,” he added.
New and improved port infrastructure in the region includes Qatar’s New Port Project, Yanbu Port in Saudi Arabia and Jebel Ali Port and Khalifa Port in the UAE. Port expansions are expected to continue into 2016, as the new $7billion mega-port near Qatar’s Mesaieed Industrial Zone is set to open this year, and port construction continues in Kuwait.
However, there are some serious challenges the region has to overcome including current economic conditions, port congestion, complicated customs procedures, under invested infrastructure and stalled free trade agreement negotiations with the major economic blocks like the European Union.
“Improving logistics facilities are well within the remit of the region’s petrochemical companies: petrochemical producers should also up their investment in training and education of their workshop and partner with regional universities and colleges to bridge the current gap between academia and industry, said Dr Al Sadoun.
To support regional players in this endeavour, the GCC is set to host its 8th Supply Chain Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Held on the theme, ‘Supporting downstream development — creating supply chain linkages’, the conference gathers speakers from petrochemical companies, railways and consultancies explore synergies between the GCC’s chemical industry and the emerging logistics infrastructure in the region.