* Petchems to account for half demand growth to 2050 - IEA
* China, India and emerging economies to drive demand - IEA
* Recycling to have marginal impact demand
By Ahmad Ghaddar and Ron Bousso
LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Plastics and other petrochemicalproducts will drive global oil demand to 2050, offsetting slowerconsumption of motor fuel, the International Energy Agency (IEA)said on Friday.
Despite government efforts to cut pollution and carbonemissions from oil and gas, the Paris-based agency said itexpected the rapid growth of emerging economies, such as Indiaand China, to propel demand for petrochemical products.
Petrochemicals that are derived from oil and gas feedstocksform the building blocks for products that range from plasticbottles and beauty products to fertilisers and explosives.
Oil demand for transport is expected to slow by 2050 due tothe rise of electric vehicles and more efficient combustionengines, but that would be offset by rising demand forpetrochemicals, the IEA said in a report.
"The petrochemical sector is one of the blind spots of theglobal energy debate and there is no question that it will bethe key driver of oil demand growth for many years to come," IEAExecutive Director Fatih Birol told Reuters.
Petrochemicals are expected to account for more than a thirdof global oil demand growth by 2030 and nearly half of demandgrowth by 2050, according to the world's energy watchdog.
Global demand for petrochemical feedstock accounted for 12million barrels per day (bpd), or roughly 12 percent of totaldemand for oil in 2017. The figure is forecast to grow to almost18 million bpd in 2050.
Most demand growth will take place in the Middle East andChina where big petrochemical plants are being built.
Oil companies such as Exxon Mobil and Royal DutchShell plan to invest in new petrochemical plants inthe coming decades, betting on the rising demand for plastics.Plastics use has come under increased scrutiny as waste makesits way into the oceans where it harms marine life, promptingseveral countries to ban, partly ban or tax single use plasticbags.
But the IEA report said government efforts to encouragerecycling in order to curb carbon emissions would have only aminor impact on petrochemical growth.
"Although substantial increases in recycling and efforts tocurb single-use plastics take place, especially led by Europe,Japan and Korea, these efforts will be far outweighed by thesharp increase in developing economies of plastic consumption,"it said.
Under the IEA's most aggressive scenario, recycling couldhit around 5 percent of high-value chemical demand.
Petrochemical plants mainly run on light oil products suchas naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). But natural gas isbecoming an increasingly favoured feedstock, particularly in theUnited States where shale gas production has risen.
The report said petrochemical projects would account for 7percent of the roughly 850 billion cubic metres (bcm) in gasdemand increase between 2017 and 2030, and 4 percent of theincrease projected for 2050.
(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar and Ron BoussoEditing by Edmund Blair)