Petrochemical industry in Eurasia: Opportunities for Deeper Processing

Abstract

The petrochemical industry is an important sector of the global economy. Today it is undergoing a major structural change. There is an ongoing energy transition that is closely linked to a deeper transformation of petrochemical products. Demand is shifting to developing countries, particularly the Asia-Pacific region and India. The Eurasian region’s geographical proximity to the large emerging Asian markets offers great opportunities. If these opportunities are properly exploited, production and exports of commodity polymers could more than triple by 2035. However, our diagnostic has identified certain challenges and constraints. Addressing these will require an integrated approach. The main ways to unlock the potential of the petrochemical industry include the following: (1) creating petrochemical clusters in attractive centres; (2) focusing on innovative and low-tonnage production; (3) using circular economy mechanisms; (4) designing transport and logistics solutions to deliver polymer products to emerging markets; and (5) using the international status of multilateral development banks to attract investment capital to the industry. If the region’s existing potential is fully harnessed, the petrochemical industry can become a powerful tool for breaking out of the inertial development rut.

Keywords: petrochemical industry, polymer products, Eurasian region, Central Asia, production potential, industrial co-operation, development of process stages, transition from raw materials to finished products, export potential

JEL Classification: F15, L65, N65, O14, Q32, Q35