As Saudi Arabia continues to retain its dominance of the region's petrochemical industry, the growing concern on the impact of this sector on the environment is now being seriously addressed. The Environmental Technology and Management Association (ETMA), the Saudi Arabian Section of the Air and Waste Management Association (SAS-A&WMA), and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) will jointly conduct a two-day seminar on the environment and the petrochemical industry during the Second Saudi International Petrochemical Conference on Oct. 9-11 at the Dhahran International Exhibition Center (Dhahran Expo). The seminar, planned at this early, will directly address petrochemical engineers and environmental specialists how the petrochemical industry can reduce the environmental impact brought about by the petrochemical sector. The Saudi International Petrochemical Conference is the appropriate and effective venue for the petrochemical industry leaders to network with leading stakeholders in the sector and is therefore the best forum to ventilate the deepening apprehension regarding the impact of the petrochemical industry on the environment, a senior official of Dhahran Expo said. The Kingdom's petrochemical sector has added value to the country's immense oil and gas reserves as this sector is projected to account for over 10 percent of global petrochemicals capacity by 2014. Dhahran Expo profiled that the Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) will increase its production threefold to 130 million tons by 2020 and will earmark SR94 billion from 2010 to 2014 to attain this goal. __
