San Antonio (Platts)--31Mar2008

The global economy will double over the next 25 years meaning an
extensive increase in demand for the petrochemical industry, according to
Sherman Glass, incoming president of ExxonMobil's refinery division, Monday.

Speaking at the opening of the NPRA's conference in San Antonio, Texas
Glass said, "We are in a growth business. A 60% increase in petrochemicals
demand will occur in Asia, and 40% of that growth will occur in China alone.
In the next 25 years, the global economy will double - in which most of the
growth is occurring in India and China."

"The world has about 3 times as much oil to meet future needs than has
been used to date. Demand will be in emerging economies, shifting our
interests to Asia," he added.

The environmental impact of climate change as a global issue is a second
challenge facing the industry, according to Glass. The ExxonMobil executive
emphasized utilizing technology as a critical means to finding cost effective
solutions.

"The key to these challenges is in technological developments, innovation
through technology," Glass said.

Glass noted that feedstock availability and diversity was pegged as the
third challenge facing the chemical industry. "Its difficult to overstate how
important feedstock flexibility is," added the incoming president.

"ExxonMobil is more than doubling the size of our Singapore complex...in
a 25 year period, energy needs will grow 40%."

The challenge of feedstocks arises in an era of $100+/barrel crude oil
with many feedstock prices in markets such as ethane, propane, and isobutane
reflecting a cost-push effect from upstream markets.

--kristina_baum@platts.com