ABSTRACT
Using ethylene as an indicator for petrochemical activity has been time- and space-saving but leaves something to be desired. Although petrochemical markets tend to follow the ethylene market, viewing the new projects in the Gulf only from the perspective of ethylene masks some important facts. Few of the important basic petrochemicals are consumed directly; most are reacted with other petrochemicals to form intermediate products, which are then polymerized, molded, and/or mixed to form fibers, plastics, dyes, drugs, rubbers, and other materials. Some of the petrochemicals are substitutes for each other; others are complementary. Ammonia and urea are primarily agricultural chemicals, although ammonia is also consumed in the production of a wide variety of nitrogen-containing petrochemicals, and urea is employed in urea-formaldehyde resins and other plastic materials. Japanese petrochemicals, based on naphtha feedstock, have suffered greatly from oil price increases. The chemical industry is large; world trade in chemicals amounted to about $125 billion in 1979.
