Faced with weak crude oil prices and the prospect of falling crude oil exports in some cases, Middle Eastern oil producers are moving downstream in an attempt to add value to their international sales and to reduce their heavy reliance on the export of crude oil. More downstream capacity is also necessary to enable them to meet the rise in demand in their own countries, which in some cases obliges them to import refined products. The move downstream is also part of a wider attempt to diversify the industrial base of the region away from primary production into new hydrocarbon-based industries, including petrochemicals and manufacturing.
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