Alternate feedstock for petrochemicals: China's quest for enhancing self-reliance

摘要

China's seemingly insatiable demand for basic petrochemicals has been the key driver of the global petrochemicals industry, triggering investments in distant geographies and in production hubs across the world. Many of the large petrochemical projects conceived and implemented in the Middle East, for example, have an eye on this lucrative market. While planners in China have ambitions to reduce the reliance on imports, by building a sizeable, robust and competitive domestic industry, this has limitations, given the constraints in availability of key feedstock, especially natural gas and petroleum fractions.