Still too crowded… Source of picture:www.tripadvisor.com By John Richardson Dear Readers – Welcome Back. Having spent the last two weeks lying on Western Australian beaches, drinking beer and reading books on European history – while also building sand castles etc with my three-year-old son – I have given little thought to chemicals. But […]
Asian Chemical Connections
No option but to bet on China
By Malini Hariharan Even as market players celebrate the finish of what has been an unexpectedly good year there are not many who expect a repeat performance. A key concern is Chinese demand which saved the industry in 2009. A massive government stimulus package boosted domestic consumption and imports of a wide range of petrochemicals. […]
Asian PE, PP face a weak start to 2010
Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) producers expect trade to pick up only from the second quarter of 2010 when restocking activity will resume, writes our colleague Bee Lin. Chinese importers are unlikely to build stocks before the Lunar New Year holidays which are in February. Operating rates at plastic units would also be low during […]
The latest on Mab Ta Phut
By Malini Hariharan There is some good news for chemical companies affected by the Map Ta Phut crisis. The Thai cabinet will ask the Administrative Court to remove 19 projects from the list of 65 projects that had been ordered to stop work. PTT’s No 6 gas separation project and PTT Chemical’s phenol and polyethylene […]
Philippines cracker – revival of an epic saga
By Malini Hariharan Some projects never die. JG Summit has been planning a cracker since 1995 but has always had problems in securing funding. The project was revived in 2005 even as questions were raised about its viability. It would help JG Summit secure feedstock for its polyethylene and polypropylene plants, but how would it […]
Qatar says there will be one more cracker
By Malini Hariharan Qatar has reconfirmed its commitment to build more petrochemical plants including a new worldscale cracker. At a ceremony to mark the start of construction of Qapco’s new ldPE project, the deputy premier and minister of energy and industry said Qatar was launching an aggressive plan to achieve optimal utilization of the country’s […]
Reliance decision on LyondellBasell after court hearing
By Malini Hariharan Yesterday’s media report about Reliance Industries on the verge of taking a final decision on LyondellBasell appears to have been a little premature. My sources say that a decision will be made only after the US bankruptcy court decides on a restructuring plan put forward by LyondellBasell. The company filed a revised […]
Will Reliance decide today on LyondellBasell?
By Malini Hariharan Reliance Industries will take a call today on submitting a final bid for LyondellBasell, says this report from CNBC TV18. The report, quoting unnamed sources, adds that Reliance may be having second thoughts about the acquisition. Key concerns are said to be LyondellBasell’s high debt, potential liabilities if it tries to shut […]
Crude, Equities & Polyolefin Pricing
This is a huge subject, one that this blog will need to keep revisiting – and if you tell us we’ve got it wrong, we’ll always listen and respond. For what it’s worth, the article below might give you some food for thought. The influence of crude we are talking about below is different from […]
Reliance moving fast on LyondellBasell bid
By Malini Hariharan Reliance Industries’ bid to acquire LyondellBasell is progressing quite rapidly. I am told that a team of top executives from the company is in the US holding discussions with LyondellBasell. And according to this report in the Houston Chronicle, the team has also been enjoying Indian food in Houston. My source tells […]
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