Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association (GPCA) is set to organise its annual forum in Dubai under the theme “Innovation: The Strategic Direction of the Chemical Industry – What’s Next?.”

The GPCA’s flagship event, to be held from November 23 to 25, will be inaugurated by Dr Mohammed Saleh Abdulla Al- Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry of Qatar. It is the leading networking event for the petrochemicals and chemicals industry in the Gulf region.

“As a series of multi-billion dollar projects are announced and unveiled, Qatar’s downstream sector has emerged as a dynamic industry,” remarked Dr Abdulwahab Al- Sadoun, the secretary general of GPCA.

“The participation of Dr Al Sada will offer a unique insight into the strategies involved in creating economic environments that encourage the growth of the petrochemicals industry,” he stated.    

Qatar currently operates a petrochemical portfolio consisting of 19 million tons of capacity, earning up to $11.5 billion in revenues, producing diverse products like fertilizers, plastic and fine chemicals.

Saudi Aramco CEO Khalid Al-Falih will be delivering the keynote address, marking his return at the annual forum. The other notable speakers at the forum, now in its ninth edition, include Patrick Pouyanné, the president of refining & chemicals at Total; Jean-Lou Chameau, the president of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology; Patrick Thomas, the CEO of Bayer and Nikhil Meswani, the board member of Reliance.

Dr Al- Sadoun said: "The participation of leaders from every facet of the energy sector is a testament to the growing importance of the petrochemicals industry. The annual forum will be the place to hear global insights on where the petrochemicals sector stands today, and what the future holds for the GCC’s downstream industry."

“As an industry, we must be reactive to ever changing markets,” concluded Dr. Sadoun. “Evolving our products and processes that are flexible and reactive to global market conditions will be the key to sustained growth.”

Previous inaugural speakers at the GPCA Annual Forums have included Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; Dr Rashid Bin Fahad, UAE Minster of Environment & Water and Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi, Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

Introduced in 2006, the annual forum is the GPCA’s flagship event. Last year’s conference hosted 1,900 international industry executives from 40 countries.-TradeArabia News Service