By John Richardson
For once, we are not going to talking about demand but will instead focus only on supply.
“In all scenarios, the US captures market share away from Europe,” the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) chief economist, Kevin Swift, …
Tag Archives | shale gas
China Reforms: The Global Implications
By John Richardson
IT can feel logical to assume that the fundamentals of the petrochemicals business in Asia haven’t really changed.
When you think about it, apart from a brief interruption in the region’s success story during the Asian Financial …
US Jobs Revival A Mirage
By John Richardson
THE US is well and truly back economically was once again one of the themes at this year’s Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) in Pattaya, Thailand.
It was argued that shale gas has led to a manufacturing …
China Reconsiders Petchems Targets
By John Richardson
CHINA has long set targets for petrochemicals self-sufficiency in each of its five-year economic plans – and those targets have been pretty aggressive as the chart above, showing the recent rise in ethylene production, indicates. These have …
US Shale Gas: Demand Is The Thing
By John Richardson
Here is one way of looking at the shale gas industry in the US from a March Oxford Economics Report:
While most of the companies that have made write-downs are not quitting, many players in this industry…
US Petchems Risk Getting Only One Cookie
By John Richardson
WALTER Mischel, the psychologist, carried out an experiment on four-year-old children in the late 1960s.
“They were given a choice between a small reward (one Oreo cookie), which they could have at any time, or a larger …
LNG As Geopolitical Tool: US Would Need To Turn Communist
By John Richardson
OVER the last couple of weeks, ever since Russia effectively annexed the Crimea, it has been argued that the US can use LNG as geopolitical weapon.
By making the approvals process easier for LNG export terminals, this …
ExxonMobil, Energy Efficiency And Innovation
By John Richardson
SAVING money through energy efficiency, along with innovation, will be two of the keys to success in the New Normal because demand-growth patterns will be very different than during the Supercycle. The suspension, which guaranteed success for …
Dow And Commodities-Specialities Integration
By John Richardson
IS diversification itself a problem in commodity chemicals and speciality companies with operations under one roof, or is it more how this diversification is handled?
This is a question raised by this excellent Insight article, from …
Dow Chemical And Back To The Future
By John Richardson
HOW the world has changed. Dan Loeb of the Hedge fund, Third Point, wrote in a letter proposing a spin-off of Dow Chemical’s petrochemicals assets: “We suspect that Dow’s push downstream has led the company to use …