The global petrochemical market is poised to garner growth at a CAGR of 5.1% between forecast period 2021 to 2030. The growth of petrochemical market is driven by increasing usage of petrochemical in industrial applications including construction, automotive, aviation, food, electrical, paint and coatings, paper.

Petrotahlil - Precedence Research announced, the global petrochemical market size was valued at USD 452.9 billion in 2020 and is expected to be worth around USD 729 billion by the end of 2030.

Petrochemical is an essential part of the chemical industry due to its increased adoption for synthetic material production. Petrochemicals are majorly produced from hydrocarbons like butane, ethane, propane, and other components of natural gas or petroleum. Thousands of end use products are manufactured using petrochemicals such as wind turbines, solar power panels, furniture, cosmetics, medicines, electronics, and plastics among others. Petrochemical plays crucial role in the growth of global economy. Petrochemicals are primarily manufactured using catalytic reforming, Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC), and steam cracking processes. Among all the products ethylene, propylene, toluene, methanol, and benzene are widely used petrochemicals across the globe. Toluene is used in the manufacturing of sports equipment’s and inks, while benzene is used in the food packaging, electronics, and furniture production. Ethylene and propylene are majorly adopted in paints, paper, detergent, electronics, and adhesive industries however; methanol is used for the construction of the buildings and thermal insulations. Excellent chemical as well as physical properties offered by the petrochemicals make it material of choice in many commercial applications across the globe.

Growth Factors:

Increasing usage of petrochemical in industrial applications including construction, automotive, aviation, food, electricals, paint and coatings, paper and pulp is major factor driving growth of the global petrochemical market. Additionally, capacity expansion of petrochemical by the major operating players is another factor expected to boost growth of the target market in the coming years. Moreover, petrochemical industry provides several raw materials to the processing industries. This is in turn creating huge adoption of petrochemicals in manufacturing and processing industries worldwide and boosting growth of the global market. Further, evolution of the shale gas in the developed economies such as U.S. and Canada that has led to decrease the feedstock prices which has positive impact on the industrial growth. Nevertheless, emerging markets of petrochemical is anticipated to create potential opportunities for the growth of the target market.

Report Highlights:

• Among the product type segment, ethylene segment is dominated the overall market in 2020 with more than 25% share in terms of revenue, owing to its wide applications in various end use industries including transportation, construction and packaging. The polypropylene product type segment is expected to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast time-frame.
• Among the manufacturing process, Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) segment accounted for the significant share and is expected to continue its growth in the near future.
• Among the application building & construction segment accounted for the significant share. Automotive segment is expected to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast time-frame.
• BASF SE accounted for a significant share of the global petrochemical market. 

Regional Analysis:

The report covers data for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific dominated the global market with a market share of more than 50%, in 2020. The growth of the region primarily attributed to rapid industrialization, coupled with increasing consumption of the petrochemical in countries of the Asia Pacific especially in the China. Increasing adoption of petrochemical in China for the various end user applications including automotive, electronics, construction, food & beverages is major factors boosting growth of the target industry and in turn growth of the Asia Pacific region. Further, presence of leading players, along with favorable government regulations are among major factors augmenting growth of the target market in the near future. North America is expected to register significant market share in global market over the forecasted period, owing to growing activities of shale gas exploration in the North American countries especially in the United States and Canada of the region. U.S. and Canada accounted for more than 90% production of the shale gas in 2018. Further, capacity expansion by the leading players in the North America is among major factors anticipated to augment target industry growth in this region during the forecast period. Moreover, growing research and development activities by the key companies in the country is other important factor to contribute the high market share of North America over the forecast period. Growth in Europe is accredited to growing production of the ethylene in U.K. Germany and France, along with growing product demand from the automotive and construction industries. African and Middle Eastern region will display noticeable growth over the forecast period.

Key Market Players and Strategies:

The major companies functioning in the worldwide petrochemical include China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. BASF SE, Saudi Arabian Oil Co. DuPont de Nemours, Inc. Dow, BP Plc, Total S.A. among others. Noteworthy investment in the research and development of the petrochemical coupled with acquisition, mergers, and strategic collaborations are the key business strategies undertaken by the major companies operating in the global petrochemical market.

Market Segmentation

By Product Type

• Ethylene
  • Polyethylene
  • Ethylene oxide
  • EDC
  • Ethyl benzene
  • Other (including alpha olefins, vinyl acetate, etc.)
• Propylene
  • Polypropylene
  • Propylene oxide
  • Acrylonitrile
  • Cumene
  • Acrylic acid
  • Isopropanol
  • Other
• Butadiene
  • SB Rubber
  • Butadiene rubber
  • ABS
  • SB latex
  • Other (nitrile rubber, mechanical belts, etc.)
• Benzene
  • Ethyl benzene
  • Phenol/cumene
  • Cyclohexane
  • Nitrobenzene
  • Alkyl benzene
  • Other (including alkyl benzene, maleic anhydride)
• Xylene
• Toluene
  • Benzene
  • Xylenes
  • Solvents
  • TDI
  • Others (including pesticides, drugs, nitro toluene, etc.)
• Methanol
  • Formaldehyde
  • Gasoline
  • Acetic acid
  • MTBE
  • Dimethyl ether
  • MTO/MTP
  • Other

By Manufacturing Processes

• Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC)
• Steam cracking
• Catalytic reforming

By Application

• Aerospace
• Agriculture
• Automotive
• Building & Construction
• Consumer & Industrial Goods
• Others

By Geography

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Germany
  • France
  • United Kingdom
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • Southeast Asia
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Rest of Latin America
• Middle East & Africa (MEA)
  • GCC
  • North Africa
  • South Africa
  • Rest of Middle East & Africa