Key Europe integrated olefins player switches from buyer to seller

02 March 2012 14:22  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--A key, integrated olefins player in Europe has switched from being a net ethylene consumer to a net seller following a review of its balances, a company source said on Friday.

“We will still be purchasing and selling, but selling a lot more [ethylene] than buying,” the source said.

The source said that the move had been a gradual process, “a trickling from short to long”, and that the player had to be “genuine” in its approach to the European ethylene market and be clear that it had crossed the line between buyer and seller.

“[We] can no longer participate as a net buyer in the [contract] process, we have to change position,” said the source.

The source added that the player would still be an active participant in the ethylene contract process, but only as a seller. The source declined to be named.

Sources said that the news highlighted “the demise of the polyethylene [PE] industry” in Europe in the wake of the massive competitively priced capacity growth in the Middle East over the past couple of years.

Click here to find out more on the European margin reports

By: Nel Weddle
+44 20 8652 3214

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