By John Richardson SEPTEMBER is going to be a cruel month when the West returns from the summer holiday period and the extent of damage to chemicals and polymer demand becomes more apparent. In Asia, temporary supply constraints in polyolefins, paraxylene (PX) and styrene monomer (SM) have disguised the damage. These constraints will at some point ease, leading […]
Asian Chemical Connections
Chandra Asri stake up for sale?
By Malini Hariharan Indonesia’s sole cracker operator Chandra Asri faces yet another ownership change with Singapore’s Temasek Holding reported to be looking at divesting its stake in the company. The news report in the Wall Street Journal said several companies from Thailand, South Korea and Japan have shown interest in Temasek’s stake, including Thailand’s PTT […]
Yet another week of price corrections
By Malini Hariharan Asian petrochemical markets continue to face downward pressure on concerns about the health of the global economy. Market sentiment for most products remains poor with buyers in no rush to resume purchases. Polyolefin markets closed last week on a weak note. Prices of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) dropped $10-40/tonne last […]
The Benzene Versus Propylene Debate
By John Richardson SHELL Chemicals put an argument forward last week that polystyrene (PS) had regained ground from polypropylene (PP) as a result of expensive propylene. And the petrochemicals major forecast a bright future for both PS and expandable polystyrene (EPS). The blog pretty much always enjoys playing the devil’s advocate and so later on […]
Butadiene – will the good times last?
By Malini Hariharan A question that every butadiene buyer has been asking for a long time is when will prices ease? There are no signs yet although buyers are threatening to cut production. Butadiene rose by more than $200/tonne last week to $3,080-3,120/tonne CFR Northeast Asia, reports my colleague Helen Yan on ICIS news. Prices […]
Japan Disaster 4 – The Impact On Paraxylene
By John Richardson ASIAN paraxylene (PX) and styrene markets look set to be the most affected by the loss of Japanese exports as the slide below from Bob Townsend at the UK-based consultancy, International eChem (Iec) illustrates. Japanese Exports.ppt My fellow blogger Paul Hodges, also of IeC has analysed the data behind the charts to […]
Will Three Still End Up As One in Qatar?
By John Richardson SHELL Chemicals announcement that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a cracker and derivatives project in Qatar seems to have upped the ante in what could be a struggle for only one parcel of feedstock. Graeme Burnett, Total Petrochemical’s senior vice president for Asia and the Middle East, in […]
Aromatics May Suffer From Strong Reformer Economics
By John Richardson ASIAN aromatics producers are struggling from an oversupply driven both by weak demand for their products and strong overall reformer economics, the blog has been told. As this chart below illustrates for benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTX), the price declines for these base chemicals mirror those we have reported on extensively in […]
Iran Petchems Hit By New Sanctions
Source of picture: irantrip1wordpress.com By John Richardson IRAN’S ability to further develop its oil, gas and petrochemicals sectors has received further major blows from new rounds of United Nations and US sanctions. One June 9, the UN approved a fourth round of sanctions on the country, including restrictions on financial transactions, a […]
Formosa awaits approval for big expansions in China
By Malini Hariharan In a research note released today, UBS has highlighted plans by Formosa Chemical and Fibres (FCFC) for major expansions at Ningbo, China. The Taiwanese petrochemicals major is in the process of getting Chinese government approval for a new 1.5m tonnes/year PTA plant, a 200,000 tonnes/year PS unit and a 150,000 tonnes/year ABS […]
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