Upcoming Trade Shows in UAE for Chemistry

The United Arab Emirates has allotted large investments into the developing its chemicals industry and the nation’s already making waves as a global player in the petrochemical industry with a strategic focus on high-volume, low-value products. Recent data highlights the UAE's significant production capacity across various petrochemical products. Ethylene leads the pack with a capacity of 2 million tons per annum (tpa), followed by urea (1.25 million tpa), polyethylene (1.14 million tpa), and polypropylene (800,000 tpa). Notably, ongoing construction projects, such as the new polypropylene plant slated for completion in the third quarter of 2021, are set to boost production capacity by 28%. But that’s only the beginning as the UAE looks to expand its petrochemical sector. ADNOC, for instance, is gearing up to build petrochemical plants capable of producing 1.4 million tpa of paraxylene and 400,000 tpa of benzene. These projects will capture new market opportunities by enhancing the existing petrochemical infrastructure. In terms of risk and reward, the UAE stands out as a favorable destination for petrochemical production. According to Fitch Solutions' Middle Eastern Petrochemicals Risk/Reward Index, the UAE recorded a score of 64.9 points in Q4 2019, ranking second in the GCC region. UAE’s petrochemical exports play a crucial role in the global market with polymers of ethylene and propylene emerging as key product groups. In 2018, polymers of ethylene constituted the 6th largest exported product group with exports reaching AED 8.2 billion. China emerged as the largest importer, accounting for 41% of the market share, followed by India, Singapore, Egypt and Pakistan. Polyethylene remains a dominant force in UAE’s petrochemical exports, representing 73% of the polymers of ethylene group. With a total production capacity of 2.6 million tpa, Borouge 3 complex in Abu Dhabi stands as a major contributor to the UAE's polyethylene output.