“Up to $50 billion are being invested in oil and petrochemical ventures in the GCC states,” said Mirza, adding that the GCC’s output of petrochemical products would reach 20 percent of global production this year.
He said the Gulf states hold 60 percent of the world’s oil reserve and 40 percent of gas reserve. Bahrain has signed four exploration accords with foreign companies.
This is the first time that the annual Petchem Arabia Conference and the Middle East Fertilizer Symposium have come together and the organizers, the World Refining Association, have claimed the move has been a major success.
The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu is attending as a lead sponsor. A delegation from the commission includes several officials headed by Alaa Abdullah Nassif, general manager for Strategic Planning and Investment Development at the Royal Commission. The Bahraini minister visited the Royal Commission’s pavilion at the exhibition.
Nassif presented a working paper at the opening session on the Royal Commission and spoke about growing investment in the twin industrial cities of Jubail and Yanbu.
“The fundamental and viable role of the RCJY was reflected by its participation in realizing the developmental objectives of the Kingdom and diversification of economic sources including non-oil based industries, transfer of technology, increase of economic growth, and training of qualified national manpower to take over and lead the industrial and economic development process,” he said.
The RCJY encourages investors to construct industrial, residential and commercial projects in Jubail and Yanbu industrial cities. The increasing investments encouraged by the Royal Commission contributed significantly to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product.
The Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu has made remarkable accomplishments in its relatively short history. Yanbu has emerged as one of the best world-class industrial cities for petrochemicals, petroleum refining, and energy intensive industries along with light manufacturing and support industries.
“We are highly optimistic about the prospects in Yanbu Industrial City. And in particular, we see a continued bright future for the potential downstream petrochemical derivative clusters development in Yanbu,” Nassif said.
He described the falling demand for downstream products as the biggest challenge. “We hope this problem will be resolved as the world economy recovers in the future,” he added.
