Over and above this, there are other aspects of the future of the primary raw chemical supply for the chemical industry. First among these is the geographic transfer of petrochemical production to the oil producing countries. Saudi Arabia has emerged in the last few years as a large-scale producer of primary chemicals and the most important olefins, in order to (among other things) make use of the petroleum gas previously burned off. A number of nonindustrialized and newly industrialized nations have followed this example, so that in the future they will be able to supply not only their domestic requirements, but also the established production centers in the USA, Western Europe, and Japan.