26 March 2014
Details
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Steve Pryor, president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company,
said in a keynote speech today
at the IHS World Petrochemical Conference.
The United States can help meet
rising global chemical demand and,
in the process, create new, high-paying American jobs,
ExxonMobil forecasts that global demand for
ethylene,
the largest petrochemical building block,
will grow by 150 percent from 2010 to 2040, driven by
* rising prosperity and an expanding
middle class in the developing world.
With an abundance of chemical feedstock
coming from natural gas produced from shale,
North America could
double its exports of
polyethylene, polypropylene and paraxylene by 2025.
“The United States can help meet global chemical demand
thanks to shale energy, and, in doing so,
strengthen the economic prospects of
our own middle class,” Pryor said.
“Ten years ago, the volume of chemicals traded
between regions equaled about 5 percent of
global production capacity.
Today, it has grown to about 10 percent,
and by 2020 will be approaching 20 percent.
This globalization comes at
an opportune time for the United States,
which is emerging as
a significant net exporter of chemicals,” Pryor said.
Potential U.S. chemical industry investment
linked to plentiful and affordable
natural gas and natural gas liquids
from shale formations has topped $100 billion.
This includes
ExxonMobil's planned multi-billion-dollar expansion of
its Baytown manufacturing complex.
“ExxonMobil was an early mover
in response to the shale opportunity,
and our start-up at Baytown is planned for 2017,” said Pryor.
“While recognizing that not all announced capacity gets built,
what we are seeing is a recapitalization of the U.S. chemical industry.”
Pryor issued a warning about
the challenge of a growing shortage of skilled labor.
“One manifestation of this shortage is
a record escalation in U.S. construction costs.
For example, the cost to build
a chemical plant in the U.S. Gulf Coast
has nearly doubled over the past 10 years,” said Pryor.
Even with 18 million Americans out of work or underemployed,
The National Association of Manufacturers reports that
two-thirds of U.S. manufacturers are experiencing moderate
to severe worker shortages, with up to 600,000 jobs going unfilled.
“Skilled jobs like instrument technicians and machinists
don’t require a four-year degree in most cases,
but they do require math and science skills.
That's why ExxonMobil recently partnered with
nine Houston-area community colleges
in a new program to expand vocational training,” said Pryor.
“The goal is to prepare thousands of high school graduates
and returning military veterans for skilled jobs
in the Texas chemical industry,
where the average salary has risen to nearly $100,000 a year,”
Pryor said.
Pryor said,
“By embracing shale energy,
the United States can meet the needs of
a growing middle class overseas and,
in the process, revitalize our own.”
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI
