It’s proving to be a shrewd move. The raw materials are already here and the oil refineries make them fully integrated. The next hurdle is developing the kinds of manufacturing capacities that will make the Middle East the undisputed plastics champion of the world.

“We’re here to bridge the gap between the Middle East and the West,” Bayegan says. “As capacities improve, we’re ready with our consumer-oriented approach.”

Always mindful of improving their margins, countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are tweaking their refineries to extract polymers from natural gas, which is a cheaper process than doing so from oil.

Turkey is set to help with this revolution. The country is the world’s No. 2 chemical importer, and Bayegan has organized its business operations to take advantage of the three most lucrative areas in this industry: oil & derivatives, petrochemicals, and fertilizers. It forms strategic partnerships with chemical companies – mainly suppliers – in order to dominate regional markets with its trading and distribution operations and raw material supply.

The company’s Dubai office is one of its largest satellites. Mrs. Bayegan, who met her husband, the son of the company’s founder, while an employee two decades ago, is already grooming their two children to continue the family’s mission to dominate the petrochemical business.

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