Driven By Demand From China, Global Petrochemicals Market To Witness CAGR Of 6.8% By 2020

Driven by demand from China, global petrochemicals market to witness CAGR of 6.8% by 2020

13-Jun-16

The global petrochemicals market is expected to exhibit a steady 6.8% CAGR from 2014 to 2020, estimated to reach a valuation of US$885.1 bln by the end of the forecast period, as per Transparency Market Research (TMR). The global market for petrochemicals is a crucial part of the chemicals industry and has significant impact on various walks of human life, as ubiquitous materials such as plastics are derived from petrochemicals. Due to the rising demand for its various end-use segments, the global petrochemicals market is expected to exhibit steady growth in the coming years. The major product segments of the global petrochemicals market are ethylene, propylene, methanol, butadiene, xylene, benzene, styrene, vinyls, and toluene. Of these, ethylene was the major product type in the market in 2013. Ethylene’s use in the manufacture of polyethylene – which, as the name suggests, consists of multiple polymers of ethylene – is a major driver for the global petrochemicals market.

The rising use of methanol in fuel mixtures has also provided a boost to the global petrochemicals market. Adding methanol allows for cleaner combustion of fuels, reducing the environmental damage caused by the combustion. According to TMR, methanol is expected to be the fastest growing product segment of the global petrochemicals market in the forecast period. The demand for styrene and butadiene is also expected to rise in the coming years, thanks to their growing application in styrene butadiene rubber and the rising demand for butadiene for the production of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. On the basis of geography, China emerged as the largest segment of the global market in 2013. China accounted for 25% of the demand from the global petrochemicals market, thanks in part to the country’s booming automotive and construction industries. China is also anticipated to remain in a dominant position in the global petrochemicals market in the coming years and is expected to be the fastest growing segment of the market in the forecast period. The rest of Asia Pacific followed China in the regional hierarchy of the global petrochemicals market in 2013. India is the leader in the rest of Asia Pacific, with the increasing demand for products containing petrochemicals and the country’s flourishing manufacturing sector expected to propel the regional market for petrochemicals. The Middle East and Africa also have an important role to play in the future of the global petrochemicals market. These two regions contain some of the largest petroleum producers in the world, with the easy availability of petroleum allowing petrochemical companies in the region to post strong growth figures.

In competitive terms, the global petrochemicals market is highly fragmented and marked by constant efforts on the part of multinational giants to acquire smaller regional companies.