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Developments in China's ethylene sector
Colin McKendrick, Nanhai Venture Manager, Shell Eastern Petroleum Pte Ltd spoke about developments in China's ethylene crackers and markets at the China Petrochemical Focus event in Shanghai on 24 May 2007.
In recent years, the focus of the petrochemicals industry has been steadily shifting towards Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Asia Pacific - and particularly China - is driving petrochemicals demand growth.
On the production side, the major capacity expansions are in the Middle East - based on large-scale and advantaged oil and gas feedstock - and in Asia Pacific. Between them, the Middle Eastern countries and China could add around 25-30 million tonnes of ethylene capacity between 2005 and 2010.
While China will undoubtedly require significant imports to meet domestic demand, the growing consensus suggests China is unlikely to absorb all of this additional capacity. This will have important implications for global operating rates, competitiveness and petrochemical trade flows.