Petrochemical Industry in Russia: State of the Art and Prospects for Development

The state of the art of the petrochemical industry in Russia was analyzed. The data obtained from Russian companies revealed extremely strong dependence of this branch of industry on imported technologies and catalysts. The most promising directions that should be developed first for accelerated progress of the petrochemical industry in Russia were outlined, and measures (including those on the state level) aimed at reducing the dependence on the import of technologies, catalysts, and equipment used in petrochemical industry were suggested. Up to 30% of the main equipment and more than 90% of auxiliary equipment can be produced in Russia, but this requires joint efforts of process developers, equipment producers, and petrochemical companies. The existing scientific and technical potential based on basic and applied research pursued by Russian scientific institutions will favor bringing efficient petrochemical technologies into practice at newly constructed enterprises.