The petrochemical industry plays an important role on Taiwan’s economic development, having created 2.02 trillion NTD in production value as well as 15% of overall industry production, involving 1,041 factories with 50,133 employees. However, domestic petrochemical manufacturers are facing fierce external competition, such as shale gas in the United States, the cheap raw materials of coal chemical production in mainland China. The recent turbulence in oil prices has created a harsh situation in the petrochemical market. Thus, manufacturers are highly concerned about the prospective changes of oil prices caused by shale gas and the future transformation of raw materials in petrochemical regions.
The seminar on “Developing Application Trends of Exploiting Shale Gas and Down-stream Petrochemical Industry” invited Mr. Ying-chou Huang, an expert on shale oil, shale gas, and petrochemicals from the United States. Mr. Huang focused on the current exploration, exploitation, and applications of shale gas, as well as the thorough analysis and dissection of related issues concerning the prospective production of shale gas and oil, sharing his personal related experiences and responsive strategies. Mr. Huang also raised the influences and current development of global energy trends and petrochemical down-stream supply chains impacted by shale gas. Based on these, petrochemical manufacturers can pinpoint the future direction and production trends of shale gas to purchase the ideal raw materials in the short-term and invest in new business in the long-term.
At the seminar, the experts integrated C2, C3, and their down-stream manufacturers --which have been impacted by the shale gas the most-- to ally vertically and horizontally via the cooperation between the companies, thus accelerating domestic petrochemical development. Moreover, the prospective raw materials used by Taiwan’s petrochemical region and the ideal selection of resources applied in High Value-Added development were also mentioned to create a more flexible method.