Entries from Chemicals & The Economy tagged with 'olefins'
European ethylene volume at 1998 low
European olefin markets had a miserable time in Q2. As the chart shows, based on APPE data, ethylene production (red square) was just 4.7MT. This was the lowest Q2 volume since 1998. Of course, crackers had switched severity to produce...
Petchem volumes slide in all 3 major regions
Volume is a key driver for chemical company profits. High volume means operating rates increase, reducing unit costs. Companies also gain more pricing power. But when volume is low, the reverse happens. Thus the above chart from leading analyst Paul...
Europe's supply-led ethylene market continues
Q1 saw near record margins for European petchem producers. And there was also a scramble for product, as buyers rushed to secure product ahead of feedstock price-related increases. But this remained a supply-led market. As the chart above shows, based...
Asia's olefin margins weaken vs Europe, USA
The ICIS weekly margin reports continue to provide essential reading for anyone in the petrochemical value chain. The above chart is particularly fascinating, as it highlights the significant differences between cracker margins on a regional basis over the past 2...
European ethylene at 82% operating rate in 2010
European operating rates (OR%) for ethylene averaged just 82% in 2010, according to APPE data this week. This meant there was no improvement over H1 OR%, suggesting the recovery from 2009's 76% OR% has stalled. Of course, in terms of...
Olefin 'spreads' remain volatile
Last March, the blog highlighted the major changes taking place in ethylene, propylene and butadiene prices versus naphtha. It also analysed them in ICIS Chemical Business in September. The above chart now summarises the 2010 outcome, using European prices to...
Europe olefin operating rates remain at 82%
Q3 showed no real improvement in European cracker operating rates (OR%). As the chart shows, based on APPE data, these remained at 82% for the Q1 - Q3 period. Of course, this is much better than the 76% OR% seen...
Asian polymer prices and margins begin to fall
A month ago, Nigel Davis called attention in his ICIS Insight column to the alarming fall taking place in US ethylene values. He noted that "inventories seem to have filled", and presciently concluded that "buyers have been on the look-out...
Cracker margins remain under pressure
The chart above, from Paul Ray's excellent 'ICIS Weekly Margin Report', clearly shows the level of pain currently being suffered by naphtha-based cracker operators. Based on European pricing, it also demonstrates the great difference between today's recession versus the...
Propylene/Ethylene ratio drops
Propylene prices have been relatively strong in recent years, compared to ethylene. As the chart shows, they averaged 90% of the ethylene price between 2003-8. Now, however, they have returned to the historical 70% - 85% range. Propylene's recent strength...
ExxonMobil weathers the storm
One can still rely on ExxonMobil to deliver positive results, even whilst the world is collapsing around them. Friday's report showed Q4 chemical volumes down 20%, as a result of hurricane effects and destocking. But although earnings tumbled from $1.1bn...
10 European crackers offline
My colleague Bob Townsend is well known to many in the chemical industry as an olefins expert. He has pointed out today's most unusual situation in olefins. Normally, an unplanned outage by one or more crackers would cause major disruption....
China cuts back ethylene to boost fuel
Some minor relief may be at hand for hard-pressed cracker operators, particularly those in Asia. Sinopec announced today that it will reduce ethylene output by 65 KT in June (the equivalent of 1 cracker's output), in order to allow it...
BP and Reliance
BP and Reliance Industries are both powerhouses in their own fields. BP’s new CEO, Tony Hayward, has just given his first interview in the new job. Comparing, and contrasting, his comments with last week’s AGM statement by Reliance’s Chairman, Mukesh...
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