THESE ARE STILL extraordinary times in global polyolefins markets. Although the great equalisation has begun as pricing in most of the rest of the world falls towards Chinese levels, price premiums over China remain historically very high. There are thus still strong opportunities for exporters to make good netbacks in markets other than China.
Asian Chemical Connections
European polyethylene and coronavirus: Panic buying versus the real demand outlook
By John Richardson NOW that the epicentre of the virus has moved to Europe, we need to think through what this means for the region’s petrochemicals demand. As usual, I am going to focus on polyethylene (PE). But what follows can also be applied to other polymers that are heavily used in packaging applications such […]
Europe: Three Very Easy Predictions For 2015
By John Richardson HERE are some alarming facts about Europe: If you include all the people who have become disheartened and so have dropped out of the labour force, the Spanish employment rate fell from 66% in 2007 to just 56% in 2014. In Greece, employment has fallen to below 50% since 2007. “Chancellor Angela […]
Europe Needs A New “Marshall Plan”
By John Richardson IT isn’t working. Surely, Europe’s policymakers must realise this? The trouble is that I worry they still don’t get it, otherwise there would not be plans to print more money in Europe. Resorting to extra quantitative easing isn’t going to rescue Europe’s “lost generation”. More of the wrong kind of European economic […]
European Energy Sovereign Wealth Fund Needed
By John Richardson THE blog met with an old friend on its recent trip to the UK, a scientist, who moaned about her local MP’s ignorance about why energy self-sufficiency was vital for any economy. “He is opposed to shale gas and shale oil because of all the concerns about fracking causing earthquakes and water […]
Iran-West Nuclear Deal Could Boost Naphtha Cracking
By John Richardson THE blog has met many Iranian delegates during its seven years of working for ICIS Training and visited the country a couple of times during the early 2,000s. We love the people and the country, but not some of the politics on both sides. And so it was great news to hear […]
European Chemicals: Rescue Efforts Continue
By John Richardson THE battle to save the European chemicals industry from widespread plant closures is wider than just at the Grangemouth complex in Scotland, the UK In Holland, for example, the Dutch chemicals industry trade body – Vereniging van de Nederlandse Chemische Industrie (VNCI) – is asking for subsidies and tax breaks from the Dutch […]
Europe’s Rubbish Solution
By John Richardson SHALE gas may never be a significant energy solution for Europe because the political challenges are just too great, as this article in the Financial Times points out.For example, the FT writes that: Fracking is banned in France and the Netherlands. The Dutch government scrapped a parliamentary proposal to allow fracking […]
The Challenges For 2013
By John Richardson WE wish our readers a great festive season and wish them all the best for the New Year. We will take a break and resume the blog on 28 December. We really do wish we could be a great deal more optimistic, particularly at this time of year. 2012 has been a […]
New Policies Needed To Restore Growth
Politicians seem to be floundering as they seek to restore growth to the Western economy. Their prescriptions swing between austerity and economic stimulus as they argue over what has gone wrong. But in chapter 10 of our Boom, Gloom & The New Normal e-book we argue that they are on the wrong track. They are […]