Kingdom’s Petchem industry will adjust to energy price rise

RIYADH: Saudi Aramco’s Chairman Khalid Al-Falih said he is confident that local industries, including the Saudi petrochemical sector, would adjust to the rise in domestic energy prices and remain competitive.
Earlier, the government said it was hiking prices for fuels, water and electricity as well as gas feedstock used by industry, as part of subsidy reforms designed to help state finances cope with low oil prices.
The price of methane was raised to $1.25 per million British thermal units and ethane to $1.75; previously, both were at 75 US cents, among the lowest in the world.
Al-Falih said Saudi Arabia is better equipped to wait out currently low oil prices than other producers, adding that he expected a more stable market “some time in 2016.”
“Saudi Arabia more than anyone else has the capacity to wait out the market until this balancing takes place,” Reuters quoted him as saying at a news conference.
The Ministry of Finance stated in its 2016 budget document that the government is to adjust subsidies for water, electricity and petroleum products over the next five years, Any changes made to such prices would be aimed at achieving efficient use of energy and conserving natural resources, and would also be structured to minimize the negative effects on lower- and middle-income citizens, the document said.
A number of structural economic reforms, including “privatising a range of sectors and economic activities,” would also be planned, the ministry added.