According to a recent report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), abundant supplies of natural gas from shale have created significant economic opportunities for the U.S. chemical industry that could result in $71.7 billion in new investments and more than 530,000 permanent new jobs.
Entitled Shale Gas, Competiveness, and New U.S. Chemical Industry Investment: An Analysis Based on Announced Projects, the report is based on a detailed examination of the 97 chemical industry projects that have been announced as of March, 2013. It explains that the $71.7 billion in capacity expansion will engender an additional $66.8 billion in chemical industry output, a 9% gain above what otherwise would have been the output in 2020.
According to Clay Stevens, President of International Exposition Company, which produces and manages the CHEM SHOW, the big news for CPI professionals attending North America?s leading processing event is that nearly $30 billion of the expenditures will go towards purchasing processing-related equipment. Twenty six percent will be allocated to major process equipment and products such as pumps, pressure vessels, heat exchangers, compressors, etc. Another 8% will be spent on process instrumentation, 5% on valves and piping and 4% on electrical equipment.
The report further predicts that $12 billion will be spent in 2014 and another $15 billion will be invested in 2015. This means that CPI professionals attending the 2013 CHEM SHOW in New York this December will be able to see and source a vast array of the innovative equipment and technology they will need to meet this increased production demand over the next two years. More than 300 process and plant equipment manufacturers will be showcasing solutions to the 5,000 process professionals anticipated to attend.
In addition, the AIChE Northeast Manufacturing Conference at the CHEM SHOW will feature leading industry experts presenting valuable insights and information specifically geared toward engineers working in the chemical, pharmaceutical, food and other process industries. Conference sessions will address energy-savings and efficiency, new and improved operating equipment and environmental, health and safety issues.
?The Chem Show is the go-to event for CPI pros to see and learn about the latest technologies to increase process efficiency, solve problems, reduce energy costs and be more sustainable in their operations,? Stevens summarized. ?Regardless of whether attendees mix, blend, heat, cool, filter, or dry processed materials, they will find what they are looking for at the Show.?
"The United States has become a magnet for chemical industry investment, a testament to the favorable environment created by America s shale gas as well as a vote of confidence in a bright natural gas outlook for decades to come," notes ACC president and CEO Cal Dooley. The large number of foreign chemical firms investing in the U.S. is unprecedented in recent history and underscores that nowhere else in the world is the outlook as bright when it comes to natural gas, says the report.
