In 20th century, oil, natural gas and petrochemicals have played a central role in the world’s economy and international energy market.

Science and technology (S&T) have the potential power to eradicate world poverty, which is the greatest social challenge of our age. At the same time, technology also carries the inherent risk of widening disparities and inequities between nations amid destabilizing geopolitical matters. The benefits of science and technology and their role in and effects on the future of petrochemical industry and the modern global society were addressed by Professor Reza, the internationally renowned Iranian academic and intellectual, who graced the 5th Iran Petrochemical Forum with his presence. Professor Reza’s speeches are famed for their in-depth analysis, foresight and vision, and are savored in distinguished academic circles worldwide. His acute knowledge of social history has a reputation of leading to fresh ideas that often become catalysts for streamlining industrial processes. The following is his speech at the 5th IPF presented almost in its entirety by Iran International to denote its importance:

Science describes nature in a factual manner, to the best of man’s ability to read the book of nature. This is the ultimate universal source of our pure and sustained knowledge. Technology has a utilitarian mission; it is developed and utilized for the physical and economic well-being of society. With the utilitarian dimension of technology comes market economy. Therefore ethical high principles may not always be present.

In the last two centuries, S&T has increased the standard of living to unprecedented levels in certain countries. It has significantly reduced poverty, eradicated many diseases and increased health and vitality. At the same time, technology has had some negative global consequences; weaponry, destruction, environmental and other calamities are also derivable or produced from technological advances. In most parts of the world, particularly in under developed areas, beneficial effects of the S&T are absent: one is not sure that there is bread on the table, or that water is potable and or that a child will live to adulthood. This growing disparity between the S&T have and have-not nations, in this age of telecommunication, is our collective challenge.

15% of the world’s richest countries take 80 % of the world’s dollar income in a world where a woman dies in child birth every minute, and where violence, hunger and inequality are seen as problems of poor, countries and not problems of humanity.

In 20th century, oil, natural gas and petrochemicals have played a central role in the world’s economy and international energy market. This trend will continue over the next generation.

Two thirds of the world’s known oil reserves were in the Middle East. In spite of this treasure in our backyard, during the first half of the 20th century Middle Eastern countries were not fully exposed to S&T, which is most essential for industrial development. For this and other reasons the Middle East region has not been among nations that have greatly benefited from the fruits of the S&T in modern times.

Yet, ten or 12 centuries ago, Iran and the Middle East region was the leading center of intellectual innovation and scientific excellence. For instance, as it is well-known in the history of science, Khawrazmi, a scientist from the northern region of greater Iran, wrote the first thesis on Algebra. The foundation of modern technology and informatics lies on basic mathematics. The word algorithm, so abundantly used in technology and computer science is believed to be the Latin variation of Khawrazmi’s name. Ten centuries ago, in the old parts of Tehran (Rey), not far from where we are sitting here today, one of the greatest scientists of all time, Rhazi, a physician, physicist and chemist was busy compiling his groundbreaking encyclopedia of medicine, which was translated into Latin centuries ago. Alcohol and sulfuric acid are listed among his discoveries in chemistry.

We take pride in bringing to the attention of our western guests that during the same era, there were many important universities in Iran and the Middle East. Most recently, the world has often heard the name of Baghdad not in a positive and flattering context. But eleven hundred years ago, Baghdad was the most important cultural city in the world with a famous academy of knowledge, probably the first of its kind. The products of that academy and other Islamic scientists were translated into more than 2000 books in Latin. This was undoubtedly a major contributing factor of the great European Renaissance of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Of course, the world has changed more rapidly and more profoundly in the last one 100 years than in the preceding 1000 years combined. The antecedents of change are not new political or economic doctrines, but the unparalleled developments in the technology that was made possible by advances in basic sciences.

These advances, especially those that have been recorded in the last half of the twentieth century are in the fields of energy, computers, telecommunications and biogenetics. These same areas will remain the foci of progress for the 21st century.

Barring information technology, the petrochemical industry is the fastest growing industry of our times. Fifty years ago petrochemical industry was in its infancy. Now, one can say with a sense of admiration, that chemistry and chemical engineering play the pivotal role in ameliorating the quality of our lives.

In our modern societies we are hard pressed to name any activities that are not directly or indirectly touched by a petrochemical product. The contributions of your industry in our daily lives are so enormous and far reaching that without them our current material progress would not have been realized. Petrochemical products have become the building blocks of our day-to-day lives; what we eat, the clothes we wear, the plastic we use. Civilization owes most of its comfort and leisure activities to the progress of petrochemical S&T.

A backward glance at the rapid and astronomic rise in today’s goods and services reveals global reliance on synthetic fibers and artificial compounds. To illustrate, in 2001 it was estimated that the international petrochemical industry at large contributed $1.6 trillion worth of trade to the world economy. One may compare this astounding statistic with a figure of $700 billion of the annual 2001 trade for production and distribution of crude oil -­based on average daily consumption of seventy million barrels of oil at an average of $25 a barrel.