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 […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Saudi Oil And Gas Supply – Anyone’s Guess
By John Richardson SAUDI Arabia’s crude-oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 40% or 300bn barrels, according to this article on February 8 in the Guardian, based on cables between Saudi and US diplomats obtained by Wikileaks. The blog the Oil Drum used the occasion of the article to […]
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 […]
Saudi Ethane Prices Set To Rise To $2/mBTU
Source of picture: robertsamsterdam By John Richardson IT will only be a question of making a large rather than a huge amount of money if you only take into account the relatively minor increases being forecast for Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical feedstock costs. The cost rises would have been far more dramatic if Saudi […]
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 […]
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 […]
Qapco studies expansion and Echem looks to Sabic
By Malini Hariharan Investment activity is picking up in Qatar. After Total, Shell and ExxonMobil confirmed their interest in new projects, Qatar Petrochemical Co (QAPCO) is talking on expanding its cracker. The company is working on expanding its 720,000 tonne/year cracker to 900,000 tonnes/year by the first quarter of 2014, said QAPCO’s board director and […]
Saudi Petchems Blighted By Logistics
By John Richardson ONE of the many factors behind petrochemicals supply being less than expected during 2010 has been logistics problems in Saudi Arabia. One trader we spoke to on the sidelines of last month’s Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) conference in Dubai told us that one particular complex was struggling to accurately complete […]
Gaping Chasm Between Effective, Real Op Rates
By John Richardson A gaping chasm has opened up over the past 18 months between nameplate capacities and effective operating rates, resulting in much greater focus on the latter. It isn’t easy and it is getting ever-more complicated to assess the actual volumes likely to hit markets. There is a considerably well-supported school of thought […]
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