a recent research shows that the global ethylene output capacity will reach 162 million tons in 2012, exceeding market demands. as more ethylene facilities are being constructed in the middle east and china, the world’s ethylene supply and demand pattern will change dramatically in the future.
in the near future, production capacity in the middle east and china will surpass 28 million tons in a few years. this will markedly bring down the shares of developed regions (north america and europe) in international ethylene production.
