Propylene
Propylene is a colourless, highly flammable gas. It is produced by several routes, the most common of which is as a co-product of ethylene production from steam crackers. Propylene is also produced through fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) of feedstock, usually vacuum gas oil for gasoline production. This is the major source of supply in the US. Output from FCCs is not of a sufficiently good quality to be usable for chemical applications and upgrading is needed through a splitter for most chemical applications. Propylene can also be produced by the on-purpose de-hydrogenation of propane.
Propylene consumption is dominated by polypropylene which accounts for 60% of global consumption. Other important derivatives include acrylonitrile, oxo alcohols, propylene oxide, cumene and acrylic acid. Other applications include oligomers, iso-propyl alcohol and fine chemicals.
Propylene is highly flammable and needs to be stored in pressurised or refrigerated tanks.
ICIS pricing quotes propylene in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the US Gulf.
Frequency:
Published weekly on Fridays and a Propylene Daily (Asia) report is published Mondays-Fridays
Propylene (EUROPE)
Weekly Price assessments:
Propylene Quarterly Contract Prices
FD NWE (EUR/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)
Propylene Monthly Contract Prices
FD NWE (EUR/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)
Propylene Chemical Grade Spot Prices
FD NWE (EUR/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)
CIF NWE (EUR/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)
Propylene Polymer Grade Spot Prices
FD NWE (EUR/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)
CIF NWE (EUR/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)
Propylene (ASIA-PACIFIC)
Propylene Daily Spot Prices
CFR S.E.Asia (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)
CFR N.E.Asia (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)
FOB N.E.Asia (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)
Weekly Price assessments:
Propylene Spot Prices
CFR N.E.ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)
CFR CHINA MAIN PORT (USD/MT & conversion to CTS/LB)
CFR S.E.ASIA (USD/MT & conversion to US CTS/LB)
Propylene (US GULF)
Weekly Price assessments:
Propylene Monthly Contract Prices (FD):
CHEMICAL GRADE (US CTS/LB & conversion to USD/MT)
POLYMER GRADE (US CTS/LB & conversion to USD/MT)
Propylene spot prices (FD):
PROPYLENE CHEMICAL GRADE (US CTS/LB & conversion to USD/MT)
PROPYLENE POLYMER GRADE (US CTS/LB & conversion to USD/MT)
PROPYLENE REFINERY GRADE (US CTS/LB & conversion to USD/MT)
General Information:
Assessment window: Price assessments are based on information supplied by market participants through the week up to close of business on Fridays at 1800 hours in London, Singapore and Houston.
Daily assessments are based on information gathered throughout the day up to the close of business at 1730 hours in Singapore. The daily assessments are independent of the weekly assessments due to the difference in frequency.
Specification: A minimum purity of 99.5% is assumed for polymer grade and 94% for chemical grade (93% in the US). Prices are quoted on a 100% purity basis. The refinery-grade price quote in the US is for product with a minimum purity of 60% and is quoted on a contained basis. (The propane portion of the stream is valued and sold separately). The daily Propylene (Asia) report focuses on polymer grade propylene. In the absence of Asian polymer grade deals, chemical grade propylene deals might be taken into consideration after normalization.
Timing: Cargoes loading or delivered four-six weeks forward from the date of publication. For Asia, FOB assessments take into account cargoes loaded two-to-six weeks from the date of publication, and CFR assessments take into consideration cargoes delivered two-to-six weeks from the date of publication.
Terms: 30-60 days after bill of lading date.
Standard cargo size: Typical pressurised cargo sizes in Europe range between 1,000-2,000 tonnes. In all reports, only sales in excess of 1,000 tonnes are taken into consideration for inclusion in bulk spot assessments. Inland European business refers to: pipeline deals; barge deals, typically up to 1,700 tonnes; rail tank and truck car business, typically between 20-25 tonnes per car.
Typical pressurised cargoes in Asia range between 1,200-1,500 tonnes. Larger-sized refrigerated cargoes are also traded and tend to range between 3,000-9,000 tonnes. Spot quotes are representative of polymer grade trades in either pressurised or refrigerated form.
Typical pressurised spot cargos in US range between 25-50 thousand barrels for refinery grade and 3-5 million pounds for polymer and chemical grade.
Assessment basis: The propylene weekly price assessments are based on information gathered throughout the week (Monday to Friday) from producers, traders, end-consumers and the shipping market. The assessments take into consideration confirmed deals, reported deals, firm offers and bids, buy and sell indications, and rumoured deals.
The Propylene Daily report (Asia) covers spot deals on a CFR NE Asia, CFR SE Asia and FOB NE Asia basis. The assessment takes into account confirmed deals, bids and offers and the surrounding demand supply factors. The text reflects market trades, production news and market discussions.
All efforts are made to confirm pricing levels with the respective buyer and seller before price assessments are adjusted. In the absence of confirmation and/or trades, price ranges may be adjusted at the discretion of the editor on a notional basis to better reflect levels at which trading activity could take place. Consideration is also given to all factors potentially influencing the price of propylene at any given time, including supply/demand information; feedstock prices and derivative market prices.
It is understood that ICIS pricing price assessments are often used as a benchmark for spot/contract propylene trades in the European and Asian markets, on an ICIS average +/- alpha basis. As a result special emphasis is given to ensuring that the ICIS average spot price is a number that can be readily agreed upon by as wide a cross-section of the marketplace as possible. European coastal CIF and inland FD prices are assessed on separate bases, but consideration is given to the movement of material from the coast inland, especially by barge and often into Germany.
In Asia, netback calculations (CFR prices derived from FOB numbers + freight) are not usually considered sufficient to warrant an automatic adjustment of CFR assessments on the basis of open market freights. The use of Contract of Affreightment (COA) vessels in Asia-Pacific and the need for employment can lead to below-market freight components to apply. ICIS pricing prefers to adjust assessments on a like-for-like basis, CFR for CFR, FOB for FOB. Similarly southeast Asian price assessments are not adjusted on northeast Asian prices + freight component, or vice versa.
The Asia report focuses on the regional spot market for polymer grade propylene and carries domestic contract pricing information from Taiwan and Korea in the text.
CFR and FOB Northeast Asia (NE Asia) comprises China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. CFR Southeast Asia (SE Asia) comprises the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. The CFR China covers imports into China main ports and takes into consideration deals done into northern, eastern and southern provinces.
In the US, chemical and polymer grade propylene are sold on a stream basis and contract prices represent benchmark price levels. Chemical and polymer grade contract price quotes are subject to discounts, depending on volume.
For US domestic transactions, prices are on a pipeline basis. Spot US export activity information may be included in the text. The US report includes NPRA survey data.
All regional reports offer market commentary that includes details of traced transactions, news on the supply/demand balance, export/import information, contract price negotiations and general sentiment for price direction. Where applicable there is product information, comments on up and downstream market developments and general market intelligence.