US petrochemical companies seek exports to Asia

US oil and natural gas prices are low enough that the country could start becoming a major petrochemical exporter into Asia, a report said on Wednesday.

Hydraulic fracturing and other drilling technologies are keeping prices for natural gas -- a key raw material for Dow Chemical and other chemical producers -- below $4/MMBtu.

That's cheap enough that the US chemical industry can start taking market share from Saudi Arabia and other Middle East chemical producers in nearly any market.

"If we export petchems into Asia, the Saudis are going to worry," says Edgard Habib, chief economist at Chevron.

"We are entering a race between OPEC and technology."