GCC petchem industry must consolidate to remain competitive: report

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) petrochemical industry must consolidate to remain competitive with its global sector peers, according to a joint report by Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association (GPCA) and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The lower oil price environment has reduced the margin advantage that producers in the Middle East have historically enjoyed over their counterparts in Europe and Asia. Besides, regional factors such as reduced availability of advantaged ethane feedstock in the region, the removal of subsidies on feedstock and utilities, and the limited demand for local chemicals are further compressing margins for GCC producers.

“Multiple market developments — both internal and external — are reshaping the petrochemical industry in the Middle East. We believe that consolidation is an effective route to positive transformation for GCC producers,” Mirko Rubeis, Partner and Managing Director, BCG, said in a statement.

For the GCC petrochemical industry, consolidation will provide several industry-enriching benefits and help build strategic, operational, and capabilities.

Consolidation will create market leadership; enable building scale in certain products where GCC producers are sub-scale; help producers achieve portfolio coherence and develop a more focused approach, the report said.

The consolidation move will also increase cost competitiveness to help build scale for smaller stand-alone companies, reduce costs and improving efficiency; enhance capabilities by bringing different companies together and will increase attractiveness to potential partners, as GCC producers seek global targets to diversify their feedstock, it added.

However, Gulf producers must take into consideration different issues before beginning the consolidation process such as stand-alone attractiveness, portfolio coherence, marketing synergies, transaction feasibility and successful post-merger integration, BCG said. 

The merger & acquisition (M&A) in the chemicals industry has increased from $38 billion deals in 2009 to $166 billion in 2017, with 80 percent of all global deals originated from North America, Europe and China, the report added.