London, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/16/2012 -- Feedstock cost is the most important factor that determines the competitiveness of the petrochemical producers. It accounts for the largest portion of production cost, making it imperative for the petrochemical producers to choose a feedstock that provides a cost advantage.

However, feedstock options for the petrochemical producers are limited and depend on the location of the manufacturing facilities. Naphtha, natural gas and coal are the three major feedstocks used in the global petrochemical industry. Most of the regions are dominated by one feedstock. While naphtha is a dominant feedstock used for petrochemical production in Asia Pacific and Europe, natural gas is dominant in the Middle East, Africa, and North America.

Naphtha and natural gas are converted into petrochemicals by a process known as steam cracking. Naphtha is a liquid mixture of hydrocarbon produced from distillation of crude oil and is directly used in the steam cracking. Natural gas is not used directly in steam cracking but its components such as ethane, propane and butane are used to produce petrochemical. These components are produced as by-products during extraction of methane from natural gas. Mixtures of these gases are known as Natural Gas liquids (NGLs) and are most prevalent in the Middle Eastern countries for the petrochemical production. Coal is another major feedstock used for petrochemical production but its use is limited to the Chinese market, which accounted for more than 90% of coal consumption as a feedstock in 2010.

The global petrochemical industry is dominated by naphtha feedstock, which accounts for the largest share in the petrochemical production.

However, the selection of feedstock depends on many factors, such as the availability of petroleum resources and the production cost of the feedstock in the region. The Middle Eastern petrochemical producers use natural gas as key feedstock as it is available to them at subsidized prices. The subsidies on natural gas in the Middle Eastern countries make it 60-70% cheaper compared to natural gas in Europe and North America. Availability of huge natural gas resources has brought the Middle East to the forefront of global petrochemical industry, making it the most competitive region in the world.

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GlobalData, the industry analysis specialist, has released its latest research, “Petrochemical Industry - Key Geographies Experiencing Change in Feedstock Scenario”. The study, which is an offering from the company’s Petrochemical Research Group, provides an in-depth analysis of the petrochemical feedstock supply scenario in key geographies. It explains the reasons for a decrease in the supply of ethane feedstock in geographies such as the Middle East and Canada. It also explains the impact of new oil and gas discoveries on the petrochemicals industries in countries such as the US, Brazil and Canada. The study provides the basic petrochemicals (ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, toluene, xylenes and methanol) capacity split by feedstock for all the five regions. The report highlights the change in the supply trend of petrochemical feedstock sources such as natural gas and crude oil. The report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research and inhouse analysis by GlobalData’s research team of industry experts.

The global petrochemical industry is witnessing significant changes in the feedstock supply trend. The most important change is occurring in the Middle East petrochemical industry, which is experiencing a decline in the supply of ethane feedstock. Simultaneously, North American countries are hugely benefitting from newly-discovered petroleum reserves, which are potential feedstock sources for the petrochemical industry. The petrochemical industries in South America, Central America and Europe are also anticipating feedstock availability from pre-salt and shale gas reserves respectively. These developments in the petroleum and natural gas industries will cause a substantial change in the availability and type of petrochemical feedstock used in the major geographies of the world.

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