AL Naimi: Kingdom produces 62% of GCC Chemicals & 8% of global production 2 Dubai

"Ladies and gentlemen: I would like to thank Engineer Mohamed Al-Mady, the
association chairman; and Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, the secretary general, for
their invitation to speak to this Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association
Forum.

The growth of the association after only four years of existence, and the
size of this annual gathering, are tributes to the leadership of GPCA. Let me also
thank Chemical Week magazine for its co-sponsorship of the Forum. The presence of
so many industry leaders from every continent, is testimony to the region’s rise
as a global hub for the chemical industry.


While the backdrop of our meeting necessarily includes the world’s anxieties
concerning current financial strains here, I want to emphasize that the overall
economy of the Gulf region as a whole remains strong. Without question, the
soundness and growing diversification of our regional economy will help restore
calm following the turbulence of the moment. Of course, one of the fundamentals of
our region’s economic strength is the industry convened here for this forum -
petrochemicals and chemicals.


The various topics that will be discussed at the forum in the coming two days are
matters of concern to GPCA members and the chemical industry at large: sustaining
success through consistent strategy, managing costs, securing access to competitive
feedstock, to name a few. What I hope to do in the next few minutes is to pose some
points for you to reflect upon as the conference unfolds and challenge you to think
about the longer term, rather than just focusing on next quarter’s profitability.
I will ask your indulgence kindly to allow me to use a few Saudi Arabian examples
throughout this speech due to obvious reasons. But my hope is that this speech will
set the stage for all of us to get the most out of our brief time together as
possible. So I plan to focus today on three main topics:
First, it is always useful to think about where the industry has been as we think
about where the industry might go in the future. We are in a world where changes
happen more rapidly than ever before. Industry evolution should not be the
exception, but in fact the expectation.
Second, I will talk about the general picture today and going forward from the view
of an oil and gas producer. Chemicals are a significant and growing portion of the
global petroleum industry, but as we all know the petroleum industry is very broad
and strategic not only to companies, but also to countries.
And lastly, I want to talk about the future in terms of how we can cooperate and
collaborate with one another towards a greater good for both the region and the
world and for the betterment of this great industry.


In terms of historical growth, it is well documented that our region has attracted
investment in the chemicals industry because of our sustainable competitive
advantages. These advantages include not only reliable, affordable supply of
feedstock but also location and port facilities convenient to serve Asian and
European markets. Additionally we have the advantages of the regulatory and
political stability in the Gulf and good relationships with partners who helped us
build our own competencies over the years. As a result, our region today boasts
some of the largest and most efficient, modern facilities in the world after
starting from very modest means in the late 1970’s.


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