The Annual Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) Forum, will be held in Riyadh for the first time.
It will be hosted by SABIC from December 6-8, 2022 under the theme ‘Chemistry in Action: Shaping a Sustainable Future.’
Launched in 2006, the Annual GPCA Forum has established itself as the premier event for the global and regional chemical indus-try. This year, the 16th edition of the forum is set to attract over 2,500 delegates from over 600 firms in 91 countries.
The forum’s programme includes a ministerial panel with regional energy ministers, a plenary address, two keynote sessions, two inaugural sessions, and four leadership dialogues.
The Leadership Dialogues will shed light on some of the most pressing issues impacting the chemicals sector today, including clean energy transition; turning the ESG theory into action; shaping future chemicals supply chains; and innovation in the agri-nutrient industry.
The inaugural address will be delivered by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy. He will also lead the inaugural panel discussion with other Gulf energy ministers.
The welcome address will be delivered by Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, Chairman, GPCA, and Acting CEO, SABIC.
Industry leaders, including Amin Nasser, President and CEO Saudi Aramco; Dr Martin Brudermuller, Chairman of the Board of Ex-ecutive Directors, BASF; Peter Vanacker, CEO, LyondellBasell; and Conrad Keijzer, CEO, Clariant, will participate in sessions dis-cussing vital topics such as how the chemicals sector can thrive in the era of sustainability and decarbonisation.
Other industry leaders to speak at the forum, include  Mohammed El-Kuwaiz, Chairman of the Board, Capital Market Authority Saudi Arabia; Ken Grahame, Managing Director, Head of Global Chemicals Investment Banking, Goldman Sachs; Mutlaq Al-Morished, CEO, Tasnee; Hazeem Al-Suwaidi, CEO, Borouge; Olivier Thorel, Vice-President of Chemicals and Hydrogen, Aramco and Board Member, SABIC;  Fahad Alajlan, President, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC); Ab-dulrahman Shamsaddin, CEO, SABIC Agri-Nutrients; Dick Richelle, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO, Royal Vopak; and Suliman AlRumaih, Group CEO, SALIC.
Dr Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, Secretary General, GPCA, says: “The Annual GPCA Forum arrives at an important time, as the chemi-cal industry contends with some of its most critical challenges and opportunities yet. Climate change, food insecurity, and economic upheaval are converging to create a future that looks increasingly uncertain.
'With a fantastic speaker line-up, we hope to shed light on how the chemical industry can continue to provide solu-tions to global challenges, the role of innovation and digitalisation in helping to achieve this, and what plans companies have got in place to meet their commitment towards sustainability and decarbonisation.”