manufacturing industry. Major factor for the location of chemical industry are availability of raw materials, cheaper means of transport for bulky materials, water supply, sources for energy and demand of chemicals in other industries.

The major industry based on mineral oil is its refining. The oil refining technology was developed in United States of America, Europe and former USSR. Earlier the refineries were generally located near the oil wells. The petrochemical industry developed in Europe and United States of America after the Second World War. The development of large tankers and pipelines facilitated the transportation of petroleum in bulk and this provided favourable conditions for locating the refineries and petro-chemical industries near the markets as well as ports.

3.2.1. America

Most of the petro-chemical complexes in North-America are located in the coastal regions. About 30 per cent of the oil in United States of America is refined along the Gulf of Mexico coast and another 15 per cent is refined on the Pacific Coast. The refineries located on the East Coast get crude oil from Venezuela and West Asia. The refined oil is transported from the Gulf Coast to the eastern region through pipelines and to the west by tankers. Petro-chemical complexes have developed in Philadelphia and Delaware in the eastern region and at Chicago and Toledo in the Great Lakes region.

Los Angeles has a big petrochemical complex on the western coast of United States. In Canada, Montreal has a large petro-chemical industry. The crude oil is brought from Portland and Maine through pipelines and by tankers from Venezuela. The other important petrochemical complex in Canada is located at Sarnia in Ontario province.

After the Second Wold War, a refinery was constructed in the Paraguayan Peninsula of Venezuela which receives crude oil through pipelines from the wells located near Maracaibo Lake.