Producers of basic petrochemicals and plastics will discuss integration issues with logistics service providers in a conference in Dubai next January that has been developed by a board comprising senior executives of major Gulf petrochemicals and plastic companies.
MariChem Middle East, to be held from January 20 to 22, is the third of its kind and designed to provide a vital link between petrochemicals and plastic producers and logistics service providers who are willing and able to meet the growing transport, storage and distribution needs of those producers.
A Al Mazeedi, chairman of a five-member board responsible for developing the conference, said the producers were looking forward to meeting the logistics services providers from around the world to discuss their requirement in various geographical regions. Mazeedi is the logistics director of Equate, Kuwait.
Other members of the board, appointed by the major petrochemical and plastic companies in the Gulf region, are Dr Anwar Al Abdullah, director, energy department, GCC Secretariat General; S Al Arifi, vice president, shipping & distribution, Sabic, Saudi Arabia; Ismail Al Anoohi, logistics coordination manager, Adnoc Chemicals, Abu Dhabi, and John Harrower, sales manager (Chemicals), Enoc, Dubai.
By 2005 The Gulf will be the largest regional producer of basic petrochemicals and plastics in the world, over 80 per cent of which will be exported to customers worldwide. Annual exports are likely to total 30 million tonnes in tankers and 20 million tonnes in container ships by that time.
The MariChem Middle East 2003 conference programme will cover all the stages involved in ensuring the safe and efficient delivery of petrochemicals and plastics, in both bulk and packaged form, from production plant gate to the premises of the final customer.
In his opening keynote paper, Dr Al Abdullah will point out that globalisation has created major challenges for the chemical logistics industry. While the response of logistics service providers to changing trade patterns and a consolidated chemical production base has been effective so far, they need to do more in terms of further mergers, acquisitions and partnerships. As Dr Al Abdullah will explain, global integration requires a new business paradigm.
All the principal plenary session speakers for MariChem Middle East 2003 have been finalised, and the conference will deal comprehensively with the key chemical logistics issues facing the industry in the Gulf region. In describing how his own company, Dow Chemical, plans and implements a global logistics organisation, Ken Andrews, global supply chain director, ethylene oxide/glycol, will highlight the growing importance of the Middle East as a supply centre. At the other end of the supply chain, China is emerging as a major market for chemicals and John Richardson, editor of Asian Chemical News, will report on investments in Chinese logistics infrastructure to cope with rapidly increasing domestic and international chemical flows in that country.
Efficient global bulk chemicals logistics need a sophisticated chemical tanker fleet, speedy port turnarounds and a network of strategically positioned storage terminals. Ed Kniestedt of Tanker Partners BV and Jan Brouwer of Downstream BV will present papers on what specifically is required of chemical tankers and storage terminals, respectively, over the next decade.
For exports of packaged chemicals and plastics, container ships play the key role. Paul Dowell, head of research and consultancy at Howe Robinson Shipbrokers, will explain why the Middle East poses a set of logistics challenges for container shipping lines that are completely different to those for bulk chemicals.
Following the events of September 2001, transport security, risk management and insurance cover are now hot topics for discussion at any logistics meeting. At MariChem Middle East 2003, Dr Peter May, KPMG chemical industry executive, and Ian Pettican, marine account executive with the PoundGates Group, will review the latest risk and security initiatives as they relate to Gulf chemical logistics activities, and show how effective risk management can still bring about savings in insurance premiums.
The meeting follows the successful first two MariChem Middle East conferences, which were held in Dubai in April 1999 and February 2001, respectively. These meetings attracted a wide range of leading industry figures representing both the chemical producers and the logistics sector, and provided an unparalleled opportunity for dialogue and networking.
