Alpha Olefins Market by Type, by Application, by Geography - Global Market Size, Share, Development, Growth, and Demand Forecast, 2013 - 2023

Global alpha olefins market is expected to reach $15,846.5 million by 2023.

The growth of the market is mainly driven by the increasing demand of the compound in the production of polyolefin comonomers (mostly used in plastic production) and specialty chemicals.

Insights on market segments

On the basis of type, the alpha olefins market is segmented into 1-Butene, 1-Hexene, 1-Octene, 1-Decene, 1-Dodecene, and others. ‘Others’ include 1-Tetradecene, 1-Hexadecene, 1-Octadecene, and C20-C30 linear alpha olefins (LAOs). Some of the applications of C20 - C30 LAOs are alkyl aromatics, petroleum additives, surfactants, and oil field chemicals. 1-Hexene has been the largest category, attributed to its increasing use in the production of plastic resin for further use in various industries including food and beverage.

Based on application, the alpha olefins market is categorized into polyolefin comonomers, surfactants and intermediates, synthetic lubricants, petroleum additives, plasticizers, oilfield chemicals, and others. Other minor applications can be seen in the production of synthetic acids, property-enhancement of waxes, and producing paper-sizing chemicals. Polyolefin comonomers have been holding the largest share in the global market, with an estimated revenue contribution of more than 55.0% in 2017. This is attributed to the increasing use of polyolefin comonomers in various industries around the world, including plastics, automotive, and construction, which is escalating its demand in the global market.

North America is the largest alpha olefins market

Globally, North America has been recording the highest revenue in the alpha olefins market. This is attributed to the growing demand of the compound in different industries, including construction, automotive, and plastics. The region is the largest producer and consumer of the compound in the world. High consumption of plastic and increasing production capacity are the major factors driving the growth of the region’s alpha olefins market.

Additionally, manufacturing facilities of most of the major players, including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC are based in the U.S. For example, Royal Dutch Shell’s manufacturing facility is located at Geismar, the U.S. The company’s total annual capacity at the Geismar site has reached more than 1.3 million tonnes per annum, following the expansion of the facility in 2017, which is expected to commence production by the end of 2018.

Growing application of alpha olefins in the plasticizers productions is expected to create immense opportunities for alpha olefins market growth

Plasticizers are additives used for improving the plasticity of a material. As of 2017, the consumption of the compound in the production of plasticizers was quite low. Chlorinated C20 - C24 compounds can be used along with primary plasticizers to improve the plasticity of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). By adding alpha olefin-based plasticizers, the flexibility and durability of plastic materials gets increased. Flexible PVC has applications in different industries such as packaging, flow-control equipment, automotive, medical devices, and others, which is expected to create opportunities for the alpha olefins market growth.

In addition, PVC exhibits some unique properties such as good mechanical strength, light weight, abrasion-resistance, and toughness. Owing to these unique properties, the application of PVC is growing across construction, consumer goods, and electronics industry. This upward demand trend for PVC materials is expected to continue during the forecast period owing to expanding applications of PVC and its low cost competitive advantage. As major applications of plasticizers are confined to PVC, a surge in demand for PVC will fuel the demand of alpha olefin. Therefore, increasing application of the compound in the production of plasticizers is expected to create ample growth opportunities for the alpha olefins market.

Alpha Olefins Market Competitive Landscape

Some of the major players operating in the global alpha olefins market are Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC, INEOS Group Holding S.A., Evonik Industries AG, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, ExxonMobil Corporation, Qatar Chemical Company Ltd., PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim, Sasol Limited, and Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd.