UK process plant spending to recover from 2009
11 Nov 2008
Manchester, UK - Total process plant spending is expected to show a marked decline for the period 2007/2009 but this is anticipated to be offset by growth between 2009/10 and 2011/12, according to the latest UK Process Plant Market Development Report from market analysts MBD.
By 2012, investment in process plant is projected to reach £8241 million, equivalent to real term growth of 3% in the year and of 1% compared with 2006/07, said MBD. Most sectors, it predicted, will increase process plant expenditure during the forecast period, although overall real term declines are likely in the water and sewerage and nuclear industries.
MBD expects that the chemical industry will continue to account for the largest share of total process plant expenditure, at a level fluctuating between 28% and 30%. Between 2006/07 and 2011/12, chemicals industry spending is tipped to increase by a cumulative 7% in real terms to £2390 million in the latter year.
Spending by the oil and gas industry is expected to increase over most of the forecast period, though a moderate 2% decline is anticipated in 2008/09. Between 2006/07 and 2011/12, cumulative real term growth of 7% is projected to take industry spending to £1496 million in 2012, said MBD.
Investment in process plant activities is estimated to be relatively moderate over the majority of the forecast period, reflecting the focus on exploration and appraisal of new wells and decommissioning of oil and gas platforms, accordin to the report.
Process plant investment in the electricity generating sector is expected to be maintained by the environmental legislation, particularly given the Government's commitment to reductions in sulphur emissions and renewable sources. In 2011/12, a 1% increase is anticipated to take electricity generating industry expenditure to £136 million equivalent to overall real term growth of 7%.
Spending within the petroleum refining industry is anticipated to show annual levels of real term growth fluctuating between 1% and 9%. Continued growth in the industry partly reflects increased investment in order to meet legislative demands. Process plant spending by the industry is projected to reach £318 million in 2011/12, representing real term growth of 9% in the year and of 30% compared with the latter year of the review period.
