NPRA ’09: US C4 demand may rise on light-feed appetite

31 March 2009 19:09  [Source: ICIS news]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ICIS news)--US demand for crude C4 could increase in 2009 due to growing US appetite for more economical feedstocks, a market participant said on Tuesday.

C4 is produced at olefins plants during the process of naphtha cracking, as opposed to the process that uses lighter natural gas liquids (NGLs) as a feedstock.

US olefins plants are increasingly moving toward lighter feedstocks, the source said, citing a recent decision by LyondellBasell to permanently shutdown a cracker due to flexibility issues.

However, feedstocks are only part of the equation, the source said, adding that if butadiene (BD) demand fails to rebound, little will happen on the C4 side.

C4 is used in extraction units as a feedstock for BD production.

“BD is the wild card right now,” the source said on the sidelines of the 2009 International Petrochemical Conference in San Antonio, sponsored by the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA).

US BD demand has dropped sharply since October owing to weak tyre demand amid woes in the nation's economy and automobile industry.

A Middle Eastern C4 producer attending the conference welcomed prospects of higher US C4 demand.

The producer said it shipped 20,000 tones of C4 to the US in 2008, down from 100,000 tonnes in 2007.

Can't go to NPRA in San Antonio? Barbara Ortner goes behind the scenes in her Chemical Confidential blog
For more about butadiene visit ICIS chemical intelligence
To discuss issues facing the chemical industry visit ICIS connect

By: William Lemos
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