Imports currently satisfy the country's annual demand for 500, 000 tons of the petroleum and natural gas by-products, which are used to make plastics, fibers, fertilizers, textiles and a variety of other items.

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Downstream activities generally refer to the refining of crude oil and distributing its by-products including gasoline, natural gas, LPG and diesel.

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The products it sells are used by oil- and gas-drilling companies, pipeline companies, refineries and other energy-sector firms.

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Bolick also cited the example of specialty-gas supplier Air Products, which has been able to save large amounts of energy by using analytics tools to monitor and predict consumer demand and thereby optimize timing and efficiency of delivery routes.

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