Feedstocks news in brief

07 May 2012 00:00  [Source: ICB]

GLOBAL CRUDE SUPPLY TRENDS TO CHANGE
Global crude supply trends and refinery developments will change in the coming years, a US research firm says. Changes to established crude oil and product trade flows are expected to accommodate increased production from shale deposits in North America, changes to Russia's export duties, new crude oil streams, new refining capacity and product demand shifts, said research firm Purvin & Gertz's Global Petroleum Market Outlook. It added: "A significant refinery capacity oversupply situation persists in the Atlantic Basin. A number of weaker refineries have already shut down and more closures are expected."

WESTLAKE STILL CONSIDERS ETHANE
US vinyls producer Westlake is still considering the conversion of its ethylene plant at Calvert City, Kentucky, from propane to ethane to take advantage of the new US feedstock cost advantage, company officials say. CEO Albert Chao touted the benefits of low-cost ethane from the recent expansion of US natural gas production during an earnings conference call. He called the natgas boom and the lower cost of feedstocks a "potential game-changer" that would "have a positive impact on our industry."

AKZONOBEL WANTS TO BOOST RENEWABLES
AkzoNobel wants suppliers that can provide renewable alternatives to key feedstocks, said Peter Nieuwenhuizen, the company's director of future-proof supply chains, at the World Congress of Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing in Orlando, US. A review of the Dutch group's renewables strategy addressed the growing supply of renewables and their increasing cost-competitiveness, he said.

By: Will Beacham
+44 20 8652 3214

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