Gulf oil producers have pumped more than $73 billion into chemicals projects within an ongoing drive to expand their industrial base and ease reliance on volatile crude exports, according to official figures.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s dominant oil power, emerged as the largest chemicals investor in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), pumping nearly $51.2 billion, accounting for around 70 per cent of the GCC’s total petrochemicals investments of $73.2 billion, showed the figures by the Doha-based Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC).
The report, carried by Saudi Gazette newspaper, showed Qatar came second, with investment of $10.5 billion. Chemical investment stood at $4.6 billion in Kuwait, $4.2 billion in Oman, $two billion in the UAE and $488 million in Bahrain.
The report showed Saudi Arabia’s chemical exports declined to around $13.7 billion in 2009 from $16.2 billion in 2008 because of the global fiscal crisis.
GOIC figures showed nearly 1,006 chemicals plants are based in the GCC, including around 405 plants each in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Around 80 factories are based in Oman, 48 in Kuwait and the rest in Qatar and Bahrain.
The plants cover the production of basic chemicals, fertilizers, nitrogen compounds, plastics and synthetic rubber in primary forms and industries of a variety of goods such as pesticides, paint, inks, soaps and cleaning products, perfumes and cosmetics in addition to synthetic fibers.
The number of workers in the GCC chemicals and chemical products industry was estimated at 83,835 at the end of 2010.
The largest percentage is in Saudi Arabia, with about 48,612 workers (58 percent), followed by the UAE with 19,016 workers (22.7 percent), Kuwait with approximately 5,589 workers (6.7 percent), Qatar with 4,494 workers (5.4 percent), Oman with 4,128 workers (4.9 percent), and Bahrain with 1,996 workers (2.4 percent).