US$64.1 bln to be spent globally on petrochemical infrastructure in 2012

23-Jan-12

Petrochemical infrastructure development is driven by growth in newly industrialised nations turning to the production of polymer products, and those which have a high demand for fertilisers and fuel additives, as per a report by Visiongain. The applications of petrochemical products are endless, and a number of companies are investing vast sums on developing new and innovative petrochemical end products from rubber used in automotive tyres to everyday plastics. Visiongain calculates that global capital expenditure in the petrochemical infrastructure market will be US$64.1 billion in 2012. The primary petrochemicals produced by the cracking of crude oil and natural gas are ethylene, propylene, methanol and aromatics such as benzene, toluene and xylene. Manufacturing of many products inChina, India and many other rapidly growing countries in the world directly depends on inputs of polymers from these primary petrochemicals. Further investment in the petrochemical industries of these economies is very important as they look to become more self sufficient and import less petroleum based products from the rest of the world. There are many advanced petrochemical products that are derived in part from the petrochemicals industry, such as glass and carbon fibre reinforced polymers. These are becoming the materials of choice for aerospace and defence industries. Meanwhile, PVC and adhesives are also becoming increasingly popular in the construction industry. This growing demand for petrochemical products from the most basic to more advanced materials is pushing up utilisation rates in existing infrastructure and over the next ten years many new petrochemical facilities will be constructed to meet the rapidly growing global demand.