By Malini Hariharan After months of talks, PetroChina finally signed a framework agreement with Ineos for partnerships in refining, trading and petrochemicals at Grangemouth in Scotland and Lavera in France. The companies will be working towards the formation of these ventures by end-June 2011. PetroChina’s parent China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and Ineos also signed […]
Asian Chemical Connections
NEW EO-Derivative Investments Planned For Singapore
Source of picture: chemindustry.org.sg By John Richardson NEW plants could be built in Singapore downstream of Shell Chemicals plans for optimising high-purity ethylene oxide (EO) production in the city state, the blog was told recently by a senior Shell Chemicals executive. We assume that the new facilities are likely to […]
Overconfidence The Bisk Risk For 2011
By John Richardson OVERCONFIDENCE is perhaps the biggest risk for 2011 as a result of sales volumes that have this year exceeded even the most wildly optimistic forecasts. The danger is that we have yet to see the worst of this current petrochemicals cycle. Companies and chemicals analysts might have got a little ahead […]
US Shale Gas: The Truth Versus Perception
Source of picture: alfin2100blogspot.com By John Richardson SINCE when has the truth mattered in the battle between environmentalists and the oil, gas and chemicals industries? This is a game of perception on both sides as estimates of risk are heavily subject to data that is either biased in the way it is collected or […]
Why bother?
By Malini Hariharan After reading news reports about fresh protests against Kuokuang Petrochemical’s proposed refinery and cracker complex in Taiwan the blog is wondering whether the company should be spending time and money in pursuing this ill-fated project. Kuokuang, a joint venture between state-owned CPC Corp and several Taiwanese private companies, has been unable to […]
Lasting Damage To US Chemicals
By John Richardson The huge and long-lasting impact of the economic crisis on the US chemicals industry is detailed in the excellent Year-End Situation and Outlook report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), which was released late last week. Light vehicle sales and housing starts will still be below 2006 levels in 2015 – the […]
Delays at yet another cracker project
By Malini Hariharan The blog is hearing about fresh delays at ONGC Petro-Additions Ltd’s (OPaL) cracker project at Dahej on the west coast of India. Conceived a few years back, the dual-feed 1.1m cracker project, based on ethane separated from LNG and naphtha supplied by parent ONGC, has been jinxed from the start. There have […]
Oversupply In Petchems Still On The Way
Perhaps not just yet…. By John Richardson COULD it be that some chemicals industry players and observers, in the great galloping rush to join the supercycle stampede, have got ahead of themselves in predicting that we are already through the bottom of the margins trough? This distinct possibility was raised by Joe Duffy, consultant with […]
Reliance Reveals Major Investment Plans
By Malini Hariharan India’s Reliance Industries is evaluating investments in a number of chemicals including olefins and derivatives, acetyls, elastomers and fibre intermediates to increase its petrochemicals production from crude, a senior company executive has told the blog. “We would like to maximise petrochemical production from our refineries, swing product slate from fuel […]
Facts, Fiction And Price-Rise Sustainability
Source of picture: tycoonreport.com By John Richardson This is a very dangerous time for petrochemicals producers as they attempt to separate real, sustainable demand from feedstock-cost related price rises and speculation. A bubble – as we discussed yesterday – seems to have formed in purified terephthalic (PTA) and, according to ICIS news, in […]
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