Global Demand for Naphtha Will Expand Faster Than Any Other Light Products Through 2020

Global demand for naphtha will expand faster than any other light products through 2020, spurred by rising needs of the petrochemical industry in Asia, as per the latest report by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

According to the 7th edition of the annual World Oil Outlook 2013 report of OPEC, the naphtha use in the Asia-Pacific region will grow by 22 percent to 4.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in this period, with China accounting for more than a third of the increase.

As per OPEC report, the expected growth in the demand for naphtha is double than the expected growth in the demand for other petrochemical feedstock such as ethane and propane which is expected to increase to 3.2 million bpd by 2020.

“Naphtha is anticipated to be the fastest growing light product over the forecast period especially in developing Asian countries”, the report adds.

However, according to the OPEC report, “the Middle East and the US are also foreseen some new major petrochemicals project, but as these are mostly based on ethane usage, naphtha demand growth in these countries is expected to be limited in the future”.

In terms of the petrochemical sector, the report states “there has been a rapid expansion in the petrochemical sector in several OPEC Member Countries throughout the last few decades.”

“In Saudi Arabia, two projects using ethane and naphtha as feedstock, are to be ready by 2015 and 2016, which will add 1.6 million tons of annual ethylene capacity in the country, whereas by 2014, three new projects will become operational in Iran, adding 3.2 million tons per year of ethylene capacity based on ethane and 120,000 tons of annual propylene capacity in the country”, the report adds.

OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organization of 12 oil-exporting developing nations, and it coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of its member countries.