Global Demand for Chemicals Used In Petroleum Refineries to Reach $26.8 Billion

World demand for chemicals used in petroleum refineries is forecast to advance at a 3.5 percent annual pace to 18.3 million metric tons in 2013, valued at $26.8 billion.  Increased refinery chemical usage will be driven by continued investment in chemically-intensive conversion and petroleum treatment processes, as refiners seek to meet tightening environmental standards while boosting yields of gasoline and diesel fuel.  These and other trends, including market share and product segmentation, are presented in World Refinery Chemicals, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

Catalysts are widely used to improve energy efficiency and process productivity in petroleum treatment and conversion applications.  Catalytic cracking and hydroprocessing represent the highest value markets for catalysts, primarily employing zeolite and metal catalysts, respectively.  Although the largest application in volume terms is alkylation, its impact in value terms is relatively small, since the process typically utilizes low-value sulfuric acid catalyst.  Demand growth for pH adjusters and corrosion inhibitors is expected to outpace that for catalysts through 2013, with gains primarily driven by increases in refinery output and internal water recycling.

North America is the largest regional consumer of refinery chemicals, due to high levels of chemical use in the advanced refineries of the US and Canada.  In addition to widely employing chemically-intensive catalytic conversion and treatment processes, North America accounts for the bulk of global alkylation capacity, which requires the heavy use of low-value sulfuric acid catalysts.  Through 2013, chemical growth in North America and Western Europe will be restrained by decreasing refinery output as less profitable refineries are closed.  Significantly faster gains in refinery chemical consumption are expected in the Asia/Pacific and Africa/Mideast regions, with demand boosted by both rising refinery throughput and the increased adoption of catalytic refining processes as the regions’ refineries upgrade from distillation and thermal cracking technologies.

The Freedonia Group is a leading international business research company, founded in 1985, that publishes more than 100 industry research studies annually. This industry analysis provides an unbiased outlook and a reliable assessment of an industry and includes product segmentation and demand forecasts, industry trends, demand history, threats and opportunities, competitive strategies, market share determinations and company profiles.