| المستخلص: |
The petrochemical industry is of great importance to the Arab oil and gas producing countries. It represents an important step toward diversifying sources of national income, and reducing the dependence on exports of crude oil, hence its role in development plans. The petrochemical industry in the Arab countries is facing many challenges in particular those related to the environmental, expeditious completion of projects and lack of coordination in the quantity and quality of production so much so that these countries compete with each other. Other challenges include the multiplicity of technology sources and the terms of intellectual property protection that impede the exchange of technical expertise among Arab countries. This study sheds light on the development of petrochemicals industry in the Arab Countries, in the past decade and the achievements in terms of the quantities and types of materials produced, as well as cooperation and partnerships in the field of production technology among Arab countries and major production companies or owners of technology licensing on the other hand. The importance and impact of this situation on the reality and the future of the petrochemical industry in the world is also higlighted. The study concluded that petrochemicals industry in Arab states is witnessing a boom never seen since the late 70s under the influence by the following factors: 1- Availability of raw materials in the form of natural gas and oil derivatives at favorable prices; 2- A market characterized by high consumption rates; 3- The advantageous geographical location between the East and West; 4- The substantial efforts expended by these countries to develop an integrated infrastructure from a solid base for the petrochemical industries, and their pursuit to of prominent strategic goals such as: - Diversifying and stabilizing further oil export revenue; - Optimize investments in their resources by adding value; - Adopting modern technologies and developing national workforce skills; and - Integrating essential installations which are necessary to link current projects and raw materials, with future plans through a wide range of secondary industries.
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