NPRA '07: US basic chem makers to lose edge

25 March 2007 23:14  [Source: ICIS news]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ICIS news)--US producers will continue to lose their competitive advantage in basic chemicals as the sector becomes more global but entrepreneurs can still find opportunities, Huntsman chief executive Peter Huntsman said on Sunday.

Huntsman said the US industry will lose its ability to export products apart from on a spot basis and be hampered more and more by energy and feedstock cost volatility.

“Because of a lack of regulation you will see our raw materials move at the mercy of traders rather than those who produce and consume,” he said. The industry had suffered from gas price volatility with prices that can swing by as much as 20% in a day, he added.

Huntsman, whose company has exited from bulk petrochemicals over the past 12 months, was speaking at Chemical Heritage Foundation symposium ahead of the 32nd National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) meeting.

Increasing globalisation will put further pressure on domestic chemicals makers as producers in lower feedstock and energy cost regions make the most of their inherent advantages.

US chemical companies in future will have to be more proactive rather than reactive to green and regulatory issues, Huntsman said. “This is a fact of globalisation that the industry will have to work with.”

“What are we producing that somebody else can’t do,” he added.

“Technology has always been the hallmark of this industry. This industry will continue to provide the opportunities for entrepreneurs to invest in something a little different than we did yesterday,” he said.

By: Nigel Davis
+44 20 8652 3214

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