GCC nations' petrochemical output rises 5.5% in 2012: GPCA

11 Jun '13

2 min read

The petrochemical production by the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) comprising of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman has risen by 5.5 percent in 2012, according to the Annual Report released by the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA).

According to the report, GCC’s petrochemical production increased from 121.1 million tons in 2011 to 127.8 million tons in 2012, showing a rise of 5.5 percent, despite a slowdown in global markets due to the recession in Europe.

The report said global petrochemical output grew by 2.6 percent year-on-year last year, which was lower than the 3.8 percent growth rate registered in 2011.

Saudi Arabia continues to be the largest petrochemical producer within the GCC. With a capacity of 86.4 million tons, the Kingdom contributes more than half of the GCC’s total petrochemical production.

In 2012, around six million tons of petrochemical production capacity was made operational in Saudi Arabia, the report said.

During the year, Qatar continued to perform and now accounts for 13.2 percent of the total with production capacity amounting to 15.8 million tons, while Oman’s petrochemical production capacity reached 8.5 million tons equivalent to 7.4 percent of the region’s total.

The UAE has production capacity of 6.1 million tons, which is 4.8 percent of the Middle East region’s total capacity. Kuwait with 7.6 million tons of production capacity accounts for 5.9 percent of the Gulf regional capacity, while Bahrain at 1.4 million tons represents 1.1 percent of the regional capacity, the report stated.

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