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 …
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ExxonMobil Highlights US Growth Challenge
By John Richardson
WHEN somebody very senior in the petrochemicals industry makes a bold statement – one that pulls no punches – it is worth taking note.
And so it is worth reading in full what Stephen Pryor, ExxonMobil Chemical …
China In 2014: Some Predictions
By John Richardson
IT was a year to remember, for the right reasons, for anybody who bet on a recovery in Chinese polyethylene (PE) demand.
Back in May, it was all doom and gloom. But since May, thanks to …
The Minority Isn’t Always Wrong
By John Richardson
“I REALLY worry about the ability to export extra capacity from the US as I think global markets will become much more regional,” said a source with a poylolefins producer .
“The US is also pretty much …
The US Growth Conundrum
By John Richardson
WHERE is the growth in the US economy going to come from to consume the big increase in the country’s ethylene and derivatives production due to take place from 2017 onwards?
This is a question that continues …
German Politicians Head In The Wrong Direction
By John Richardson
IT took Germany’s politicians five weeks, including a final marathon 17-hour negotiating session, to agree on a “grand coalition”, points out The Economist in this article.
The trouble is that, despite this massive expenditure of hot air …
Less Rather Than More Petchems Free Trade
By John Richardson
A LOT of the talk at this year’s GPCA conference in Dubai was of the need for more free trade in petrochemicals.
There seems to be a risk that as more countries develop refinery and petrochemicals businesses, …
Bio-based Local Ethylene Plants A Good Alternative
By John Richardson
THE proven approach for success in petrochemicals is, of course, to find cheap feedstocks somewhere and build a world-scale cracker complex.
That “somewhere” doesn’t necessarily have to be close to the final customers in emerging markets. For …
Life After The “Sugar High”: Oil Prices And Petrochemicals
By John Richardson
WHY is it that even though demand in the US for petrochemicals is still well below the 2007 peak, as indicated by the latest American Chemistry Council capacity utilisation chart, the November ICIS Petrochemical (IPEX) for the …
China’s Overshadowing Economic Importance
By John Richardson
AS we head into this weekend’s crucial November plenum , it is worth remembering that there is no chemicals and polymers market to compare with China’s in volume terms anywhere else in Asia.
Take polyproplyene (PP) as …