By John Richardson THE big US petrochemicals story at the moment is, of course, shale gas and the potential it offers for the local industry to substantially expand capacity. This would, in theory, give producers a strong position to export to South America, Asia and Europe. Exports are going to be essential as the US market, […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Butadiene Set To Decline Further
By Malini Hariharan The drama continues in the Asian butadiene market. Bids this week are about $100/tonne lower than sellers’ price ideas, writes Helen Yan in an ICIS news report. Buying indications have dropped to $3,350-3,400/tonne CFR Northeast Asia. Butadiene prices appear to be going through another downcycle, reflecting the fundamentals of a market that it […]
China Set To Gain The Most From Inland Boom
By John Richardson LAST week we discussed how inland markets in China – which are booming thanks to government efforts to raise rural income levels – offer huge opportunities for petrochemicals producers. Here are a few further reasons to believe that it will be local rather than overseas producers which benefit the most. Beijing […]
World Bank Highlights China Risks
By John Richardson A NEW report by the World Bank on China, summarised on the slide below, supports what we argued in chapter 6 our e-book, Boom, Gloom & The New Normal: That without the success of efforts to reform the economy, the country risks a significant slowdown. Those reform efforts, detailed in the […]
Europe Markets Lure Asian Polyolefins
By John Richardson EXACTLY the same scenario is playing out in European polyolefin markets, as in Latin America and possibly the US, my ICIS colleague Linda Naylor reported last Friday. High polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) prices in Europe have led to increased offers for re-exported material from China, according to Linda – our European […]
Honam’s next expansion
By Malini Hariharan Honam Petrochemical’s plans for Indonesia appear to be progressing. Company sources told ICIS news yesterday that a feasibility study is underway for a $4-5bn petrochemical complex in Southeast Asia with Indonesia the most likely location. The study is likely to be completed by early 2013. Meanwhile, Indonesia media quoted senior managing director […]
Quick recovery forecast for South Korea
By Malini Hariharan Analysts are predicting a quick recovery for South Korean petrochemical companies after a dismal performance in the last quarter. Honam Petrochemical’s Q4 2011 sales were down 14.7% quarter on quarter at Won3,488 bn. Operating profit declined 59.8% to Won158.4bn. LG Chem’s sales dipped 4.8% at Won5,602bn while operating profit slipped 30% to […]
Petchems And The Non-Profit Motive
By John Richardson AS the US contemplates raising its ethylene capacity by up to 29 percent by 2017, we would be fascinated to know whether the companies involved in these proposed expansions, and the “cheer leader” chemical industry observers spurring them on, have ever considered a chart such as the one below: First […]
Confidence Is Often Relative
By John Richardson CONFIDENCE can be very relative. So, compared with late Q4 last year when global cracker and derivatives markets ground to a virtual halt, perhaps it was inevitable that January would see some kind of rebound in the industry’s mood. Deep operating rate cuts in Northeast Asia have been a factor behind this […]
China set for aromatics expansion
By Malini Hariharan China is preparing to bring onstream huge capacities for aromatics this year. Nearly 1.7m tonnes/year of toluene capacity is due to be added, writes Dolly Wu in the latest issue of ICIS Chemical Business. The major projects to keep an eye on are Dragon Aromatics (350kta), Jilin Petrochemical (350kt), PetroChina Sichuan Petrochemical […]
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