Our World Aromatics Conference in Berlin, now in its 11th year, provided valuable insight into changing market developments, thanks to our array of top-level speakers:
Ted Randall, Global Business Manager for Saudi Aramco, highlighted how their drive to reduce gasoline imports into Saudi Arabia would mean a major expansion in benzene and PX capacity, as refining expanded.
Craig Barry, Global Business Director for Dow, forecast continuing volatility in benzene markets, due to its status as a co-product. Refiners and cracker operators prioritised their major volume products, often creating an imbalance in its supply/demand.
Capella Festa, Senior Energy Analyst with the International Energy Agency, provided an insider's view of their newly-released World Energy Outlook, which was a major news story in the world's media this week.
Stephen Kinder, New Business Development Manager with Shell, argued that chemicals had a vital role to play in reducing CO2 emissions in buildings. He also explained the growing inter-connectedness of water, food and energy markets.
Carlos Molina, Key Account Manager with CEPSA, described how integration was increasingly essential for survival, as polyester markets faced major over-capacity challenges.
The blog focused on how businesses could prosper in the transition to the New Normal world. This involved refocusing on the two major growth sectors for the future:
• The New Old 55+ generation in the West
• The New Poor billions emerging from poverty in emerging economies
It worried that many companies were still failing to recognise that demand patterns were undergoing fundamental shifts due to changing demographics. For more detail, please click here to read Truong Mellor's ICIS News report.