Petrochemical industry posts robust growth

Muscat: Oman’s petrochemical industry posted the highest contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the manufacturing sector compared with other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states.
In 2016, the sector contributed 51 per cent of the added value in the manufacturing sector in the Sultanate; a growth of 47 per cent compared to 2015.
The data released in the new report titled “2016 GCC Petrochemical and Chemical Industry Facts and Figures” by the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), highlighted the role of the chemical industry in diversifying the regional economy and accelerating non-oil economic growth.
The report said that the GCC chemical industry contributed around $43.8 billion to the GCC economy in 2016, equal to almost one third of manufacturing value added and 29 percent of manufacturing revenue.
GCC chemicals output grew at the fastest pace in five years, with chemical production growing 8.5 per cent from 2015 levels, reaching 158.8 million tonnes.
In 2016, the GCC chemical industry reported $77 billion in sales revenue, down 3 per cent from the previous year as a result of changes in global petrochemical prices, according to the report from GPCA.
The chemicals industry directly employs 152,100 people in the GCC while investing $584 million in research and development.