Ethylene Production in the Middle East

Over the past decade (to 2008) there has been an enormous expansion in the production of olefins and resins in the Middle East. This has been driven by (i) the availability of feedstock at low prices as a consequence of the large oil reserves and (ii) the strategic location of the Middle East in being able to supply both the Atlantic and Ear East petrochemical demand - in particular the enormous rise in demand from China. 

As of 2008 installed capacity based on ethylene is 10.4 million tonnes across five nations of the Middle East as illustrated in Eigure 1.5. 

Most capacity is in Saudi Arabia, which has almost 7 million tonnes of ethylene capacity mainly using gas based feedstocl. Current capacity in Iran, Qatar and Kuwait stands at about 1 million tonnes each and the UAE has a cracker of 600,000 tonnes. Larger plants are under construction in Iran . The status of the Iraqi petrochemical industry is unknown. 

As is illustrated in the Figvure 1.6, ethane is the major feedstock of the region. Along with propane and butane, ethane is extracted from natural gas either as gas associated with oil or from large natural gas fields developed for LNG production, as in Qatar. 

A critical factor underpinning the growth in petrochemicals is that the Middle Eastern governments have made the political decision that the pricing of gas and its derivatives (ethane, propane and butane) is not related to the price of crude oil for domestic petrochemical purposes. This distinguishes the Middle East operations from many of those elsewhere such as Europe and USA where the pricing of gas derived feedstock bear a relationship with the prevailing price of crude oil. 

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