In recent years, consumer concerns about microplastics have grown, with more people aware of the plastics that end up in everyday products, food, and even drinking water, as well as the potential impact they may have on human health. This has led to pushback by consumers for companies to address the issue. The petrochemicals industry is forecast to continue growing even as countries reduce their reliance on fossil fuels for power and heating, but could this controversy change this?
Petrochemicals are produced from oil and gas. In 2023, the petrochemical industry contributed over 16 percent of oil demand across OECD countries, used for a wide variety of applications, including in the production of plastics, synthetic fibres, and fertilisers, to adhesives, dyes, detergents, and synthetic paints and coatings. The market was valued at $585 billion. Global petrochemical production reached 2.6 billion tonnes in 2023, with China, India and Iran dominating output. China is expected to add 134 million tonnes a year of petrochemicals production capacity.
The industry is expected to continue expanding over the next decade, to reach a market value of more than $1 trillion by 2030 as demand for petrochemical products continues to increase, while fossil fuel demand from other sectors starts to wane. However, there are significant concerns about the environmental implications of this growing demand, as an ongoing reliance on petrochemicals for a wide range of products could compromise the world’s aim for a green transition.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects global oil demand to peak before 2030. Meanwhile, the petrochemical demand will likely drive the remaining demand over the coming decades, as the world struggles to move away from a reliance on plastics, fertilisers, and other petrochemical products. A 2023 review of the major oil and gas chemicals firms showed that over the following three years, ExxonMobil was expected to invest more than $20 billion in expanding its plastic production, while CPChem planned to spend $14.5 billion, and Dow Inc. expected to invest $10 billion.
Plastic is widely used in packaging, with most of the things we eat and drink being wrapped in plastic. This led global plastics production to more than double between 2000 and 2020. In the United States, around 1.5 percent of natural gas is transformed into chemicals used to make plastics and other consumer goods, according to research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The IEA reported that the increase in China’s oil demand between 2021 and 2024 would be driven by chemical feedstocks, such as LPG, ethane, and naphtha, with additional Chinese production capacity for ethylene and propylene exceeding the combined current capacities of Europe, Japan, and South Korea. Between 2018 and 2023, China’s synthetic fibre production increased by 21 million tonnes, or enough to produce 100 billion T-shirts, as the fashion industry continues to rely heavily on petrochemicals for a wide range of products.
However, rising consumer worries about microplastics, as well as concerns over the environmental impact of petrochemical production, could threaten the industry’s growth over the coming decades. Microplastics have been found in an increasing number of products and have even been found in our food and drinking water. These plastics are smaller than 5 millimetres, with many nanoplastics that are too small for the human eye to see.
In recent years, more scientists have focused on the impact of microplastics on human and environmental health. This growth in research has revealed that humans have microplastics in their bodies, with human brains found to have an average of around 7 grammes of plastic in 2024, around 50 percent more than in 2016. They have also been found in the muscle tissue of fish and even in fruits and vegetables. This has led consumers to question the widespread use of plastics and the potential health implications of microplastics, as they call on companies across a range of industries to change their practices.
Richard Wiles, president of the Centre for Climate Integrity, stated, “Where the industry is most vulnerable is on the human exposure to microplastics.” Wiles said, “They’re going to have to try to tell us that exposure to microplastics every day, from birth to death, is just fine. It’s just great. You should just eat more of it. It’s no problem. And I just don’t think they can win that argument.”
Researchers now believe that microplastics in our bodies could harm respiratory and reproductive health, as well as our digestive systems. They have also been increasingly linked to certain types of cancer. While there is still little public awareness about the negative health effects of microplastics, growing awareness in the coming years will likely alter consumer habits, as people begin to demand change. Consumers and governments have already put pressure on companies to reduce the utilisation of single-use plastics over environmental concerns, and similar efforts are expected to lead to pressure to change packaging and other products that could harm human health.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com