Abu Dhabi, UAE: Middle East Sulphur 2017, a new conference held from February 12-16, will highlight the ever-growing value of the commodity regionally and beyond.
Often viewed as a by-product of the oil and gas industries, sulphur is now coming to the fore as its versatility and potential is realised by business leaders around the world.
Sulphur is also the primary source in producing sulphuric acid, the world’s most used chemical – which is used in a multitude of applications from fertilizer production through to steel, wind turbines and electronics.
The widening use and recognition of sulphur is of significant importance to the UAE, which at an output of around 18,000 tonnes a day, is one of the biggest sulphur producers in the world. This figure may increase in the coming years as Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (ADNOC) current production sites in Shah and Habshan could be joined by a number of gas fields that are yet to be utilised for sulphur extraction.
With the nation’s impending targets for economic diversification, sulphur’s alternative uses puts it high up on the agenda of prosperous paths that UAE businesses could take. ADNOC, Platinum Sponsor for CRU’s Middle East Sulphur, is a high profile example of this, with recent comments pointing to upcoming investments in fertilizers which will help secure long term consumption of their sulphur. Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, Gas Management Director at ADNOC, will be opening the conference and addressing the topic of ADNOC’s future strategic plans as the company continues to evolve into an agile, resilient and commercially driven company.
The sulphur industry has seen a change of fortunes in recent years, reversing the perception that sulphur was simply a cost of production in oil and gas processing. However, as the market becomes more competitive across the globe, the Middle East can lead by example in providing a long term, sustainable business framework.
Dr Peter Harrisson, Senior Consultant and Sulphur Team Leader, CRU, said: “Sulphur demand in traditional sectors has grown significantly over recent years. In the future these uses will grow further but new sulphur demand, such as use as a fertilizer nutrient in its own right, will also add to global consumption.
Supply growth in the Middle East will make the region one of the most influential origins for the global sulphur market. As the sulphur market moved into surplus in 2016, the existence of efficient and flexible logistics infrastructure to move sulphur to market is more important than ever. The UAE has succeeded in developing this infrastructure to mean that sulphur will offer a real opportunity to add value whether the global market is in surplus or deficit over the coming years.”
CRU, a business intelligence provider, also hosts the annual Sulphur International Conference and Exhibition - the premier industry event for the sulphur and sulphuric acid market for over 30 years, which takes place in November each year: The next edition of the conference will take place in Atlanta, USA in November 2017.
For more information on the CRU Middle East Sulphur Conference 2017 visit www.middleeastsulphur.com
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About CRU:
Founded in 1969, CRU Group is the leading, independent, global metals, mining and fertilizers analysis, consultancy and conference business. CRU is located in London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Pittsburgh, Santiago, New York, Mumbai, Sydney, Tokyo and São Paulo; and is dedicated to providing high quality analysis and insight to its global customer base. CRU employs more than 220 expert staff, including economists, engineers, metallurgists, geologists and chemists.
For more information visit: www.crugroup.com or contact: matthew.jones@fourcommunications.com
About CRU Events:
CRU Events has a well-established portfolio of events for the fertilizer industry, incorporating both nutrient specific large-scale international conferences for the Nitrogen, Phosphate and Sulphur markets, in addition to regional conferences covering Latin America, China, Asia and the Middle East. The conferences attract a varied mix of technical and commercial experts from the global fertilizer industry.
For more information visit: www.crugroup.com/events
© Press Release 2017
