Global investment in the petrochemical infrastructure market to reach US$64.1 bln in 2012

The petrochemical infrastructure market has seen rapid growth over the past decade. Growth in demand for petrochemical products has been the major underlying driver of growth. The manufacturing and production of modern industrial and consumer goods requires polymers and derivatives of petrochemicals which are integral to almost every product. There is no sign of a change in this practice, as petrochemicals can provide a low cost and optimal product for majority of manufacturing situations. Visiongain calculates global investment in the petrochemical infrastructure market will reach US$64.1 bln in 2012. 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. Global petrochemical infrastructure is both adding capacity to accommodate larger volumes of primary petrochemicals, as well as to produce more sophisticated petrochemicals that have specific qualities. 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 in China, 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. Some of the most advantageous properties of petrochemicals are their high strength, low density, inert characteristics and their relatively low price. 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 utilization rates in existing infrastructure and over the next ten years many new petrochemical facilities will be constructed to meet the rapidly growing global demand.