By John Richardson THE CONSENSUS assumption is that Europe will remain a major importer of polyolefins for the foreseeable future. Lack of feedstock advantage is said to be a reason why rising deficits will not be met by local production. But few of the people who attended the 1900 Easter Parade in New York saw […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Asian Polyolefins Profits To Test 2012 Lows As Global Economy Slows
By John Richardson PETROCHEMICALS are a great barometer for economic growth as they are the raw materials for so many finished goods. So, if petrochemicals producers see their profits slip, this provides an early signal that something is wrong with wider economies. It is not just petchems producers that should therefore take note of the […]
Success And Failure In Polyolefins Redefined By Sustainability
By John Richardson YOU DON’T have to be an oil and gas producer to be successful in polyolefins. Anyone with integration upstream as far as refining is in a strong commercial position. It is also good enough to be integrated from the steam cracker downwards; in fact, more than good enough given the strength of […]
China Aims To End Petrochemicals Imports
By John Richardson CHINA HAS changed its strategy for the petrochemicals and polymers where it is in deficit. Previously, the government accepted China’s position as a major importer. Now the plan is to move into balanced or long positions with any surpluses exported via the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Petrochemicals are seen as a […]
Plastic Waste Crisis: Virgin Polymers Growth Will Be Below GDP
By John Richardson AS the demand for transportation fuels declines, oil and refining companies are increasingly viewing petrochemicals as compensation for this lost demand. Their logic is based on the theory that whilst gasoline and diesel consumption is set to fall on sustainability concerns, petrochemicals growth will remain strong. The companies have of course tremendous […]
Single-Use Plastics: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
By John Richardson AN ENVIRONMENTALIST I used to know would often say, “The world is already choking to death on plastics. We don’t need any more. We must shut plastics plants down and stop building new ones.” She was only partly right. Her anger at plastics pollution was often driven more by emotion than solid […]
Europe Polyolefins Must Confront Plastics Rubbish Crisis
By John Richardson THE European polyolefins industry is quite often viewed as an industry with limited growth opportunities. But provided companies take the right upstream and downstream approach, the growth opportunities are substantial. Success will hinge on how successful the industry is in dealing with the plastics rubbish crisis. This will be one the themes […]
Asian Polyolefins Markets Still Indicate Economic Slowdown
By John Richardson ANOTHER week has led to another fall in Asian polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) prices despite higher naphtha feedstock costs on stronger crude oil. Pricing has been weak since the Lunar New Year Holidays, (15-21 February). Market participants had expected the opposite on a recovery in demand following the holidays and tight […]
Petrochemicals Markets Point To Synchronised Global Downturn
By John Richardson IF you repeat something enough times, such as the “emperor is wearing clothes”, lots of people begin to believe it. So is the case with the widespread idea that we are in the midst of an unshakeable synchronised global economic recovery. The problem with these kind of economic theories is that as […]
Digitisation Will Transform Petchems As Plant Reliability Increases
Global volatility in pricing will also be greatly reduced as unexpected outages largely become a thing of the past By John Richardson EUROPEAN polyolefins have painful memories of 2016 because it was a year of major supply shortages. Polyethylene (PE) production in the three major grades was down by an average of 2.3% compared […]