Oil and chemicals need to function as one industry; Exxon executive sees two sectors working together to improve profitability. (Exxon Corp exec VP Robert Wilhelm in speech to European Petrochemical Association)

Chemical Market Reporter, October, 1997

Exxon executive sees two sectors working together to improve profitability. THE PETROCHEMICAL and refining sectors need to work more closely together to deal with declining unit profitability and achieve cost savings in the face of overcapacity, according to Robert Wilhelm, senior vice-president and director of Exxon Corporation.

Through closer association, both industries can upgrade products and use research cooperation to improve yields. Exxon believes its own R&D program can help it considerably boost yields of refinery propylene. The interface between refineries and petrochemical plants is similar to a symbiotic biological system bringing together organisms with both dissimilarities and similarities, Mr. Wilhelm told the annual meeting of...

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