Global competition strategy, and huge oil reserves of 264 billion barrels and 279.2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas have enabled the Kingdom to rank first in methanol production and second among in ethylene.

Focusing on these advancements, Walid A. Abukhaled, deputy minister for industrial affairs at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, will deliver a keynote address at the Kingdom Polymers and Plastics Summit 2013 on Dec. 8 at Sofitel in Alkhobar.

Abukhaled will elaborate the accelerating growth in public private partnership and development in Saudi Arabia’s industrial sectors. It will also create a platform to bring forth latest production and technological updates in plastic manufacturing and apprise on applications.

Abdulrahaman Al-Ubaid, MD, Saudi Development and Innovation Group (SADIG), said: “GCC is the hub for polymer production. In Saudi Arabia, production of polymers is about 10 million tons with a convergent industry of about 2 million tons. The potential market size offers huge opportunity to current and new players.”

He added: “Seizing this opportunity will require use of innovative technologies and exposure to newer ideas and new applications.”

Omar S. Bahobail, president and CEO of Al Waha Petrochemical Company will present the market potential of Saudi Arabia. Bahobail will also highlight the polymer success and educate the attendees on Al Waha Petrochemical’s best practices.

The summit aims to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the burgeoning plastic market, including analysis for polymers and plastics, bridging the gap between polymers procurement and selling converted plastic in a competitive market, updated technologies in blow-molding and Nano materials in packaging functionality and future potential.

Keynote speakers of the summit are Manfred Wiedmann, general manager at Plastic Processors and Compounders Coperion, Germany; Mohammed Alhamdan, manager technology at SABIC; Mohammed Al-Bahattab, professor at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology; Mohsin Aman, deputy CEO of EnerPlastics LLC at UAE; Azzam Abusafieh, chairman of Abusafieh Group; Fawaz Al-Kaaki, president and managing director at Saudi Plastic Factory; Orhan Gocer, procurement head and key account manager at Sem Plastik, Turkey and Trevor J. Hutley, general manager product and technology development at SIPCHEM.

The three-day summit will be a premier gathering to network with experts providing raw materials for the downstream sector, polymer manufacturers and compounders, plastic converters and solution providers.

The plastic industry in the Middle East is growing at a rate of approximately 30 percent every year with a CAGR of around eight percent.