By Malini Hariharan C4 buyers are a troubled lot. Availabilty of the product is tight and will remain so for the foreseeable future. So it was not surprising to hear that concerns about C4 supply dominated discussions at the recent 6th ICIS World Olefins Conference in Brussels. From a surplus in 2010, Europe is predicted […]
Asian Chemical Connections
PX: Still going strong
By Malini Hariharan Paraxylene (PX) markets are on a roll. Prices have risen by 20% since the beginning of the year and were assessed at around $1,620/tonne cfr Asia late last week by ICIS pricing. One contract nomination for March was out yesterday with JX Nippon Oil proposing a $110/tonne increase to $1,730/tonne cfr Asia. […]
European petchems could be tempted to overproduce
By John Richardson EUROPEAN refiners are “awash with naphtha” as a result of long-term structural length and a lack of arbitrage, a petrochemicals feedstock purchasing manager told the blog yesterday. The decline in US gasoline demand (according to most experts consumption in the States peaked in December 2007 and has been falling ever since) has […]
Saudi Producers Remain Confident
By John Richardson THE optimism of Saudi Arabian petrochemical producers remains extremely high, according to an industry observer who spoke to the blog. One might think we were to some extent stating the blatantly obvious as their margins will have swelled thanks to higher oil prices. But there is also little concern among the producers […]
Intuitively The Problems Are Building
By John Richardson THE signs are ominous as they have been since the beginning of the crisis. Intuitively, it still feels as if we are heading for some major macroeconomic problems. As Andrew Liveris, CEO of Dow Chemical, put it last week: “Overall, the world continues to recover to pre-recession levels. However, with inflation concerns […]
How Can This Year Not Be A Let Down?
Ali Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, suggests more oil supply could be on the way Source of picture: stonesoupstationblogspot.com By John Richardson CHEMICALS analysts at HSBC have added further weight to the argument that 2011 could well turn out to be a year of disappointment following the very high expectations set […]
A Toxic Combination: Sentiment And Oil Prices
By John Richardson Yesterday we suggested that demographic challenges in the West, the strain on resources resulting from rising consumption in emerging markets and rising inflation should heavily feature in discussions at this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos. Chemical industry leaders who could be attending include Mohamed Al-Mady, CEO of SABIC, Andrew Liveris, CEO […]
Edgy And Nervous CEOs In Deep Contemplation
Davos 2011 Source of picture: eacci.net By John Richardson THE edginess and nervousness of Asian polyolefin markets we talked about last week is likely to be part of the mindset of any chemicals company CEO right now. As my colleague Nigel Davis wrote about last week, the industry’s financial results for 2010 are […]
Polyolefin Producers Maintain Their Control
Source of picture: Dallhouse University, Canada By John Richardson THE incredibly smart way in which polyolefin producers have managed production since the great collapse of September 2008 continues to defy what appear to remain some very uncertain, and some cases weak, macro-economic fundamentals. As we discussed on Wednesday, China faces a significant demand-growth gap […]
A Repeat Of The 2008 Collapse On The Cards
“Only another thousand or so years to go…..” Source of picture: Atlantic Council By John Richardson HERE we go again, eh? Yes, as rising crude-oil prices and overall inflation pose a major threat to the petrochemicals industry. Nothing the blog has read or heard over the last two weeks has given […]
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