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Asian Chemical Connections

Is China getting serious?

By Malini Hariharan The Chinese government’s position on environmental safety has always been difficult to read. The official position for the last few years has been to reduce pollution by closing down old factories and forcing companies to invest in new technologies. But implementation has been sketchy as other priorities such as preserving jobs or […]

Saudi gas shortage and Iran gas price hikes

By Malini Hariharan The gas shortage in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, has been well documented with the situation expected to ease in the longer term once investments in new processing plants have been completed. But in a recent report on the emerging market for LNG, Facts Global Energy (FGE) points out that more […]

Marcellus shale cut down to size

By Malini Hariharan The blog has been reading with interest a recent report about the Energy Information Administration (EIA) cutting its estimate of the Marcellus shale gas reserves by 80% following a recent study by the US Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS has estimated that the Marcellus field, which stretches from New York to Virginia, […]

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 […]

What’s next for PetroChina and Ineos?

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 […]

One more view on the cycle

By Malini Hariharan The debate on the next petrochemical upcycle is heating up. After confident forecasts of a “supercycle” the blog is increasingly hearing more cautious assessments Take the recent report from Credit Suisse which stresses that while conditions for a period of bumper margins are favourable there are still many uncertainties. Pic source: avalonwine.com […]

A dose of caution

By Malini Hariharan Predictions about a steady recovery in petrochemical margins from financial analysts have multiplied in recent weeks and producers too have turned bullish with many expecting to sail through 2011 without any major difficulties. But in the midst of this optimism a few cautionary voices can still be heard. Analysts at South Korea-based […]

Petchem markets on a bull run

By Malini Hariharan The Chinese are back from their holidays and they are buying. This coupled with supply constraints and firm crude prices is fuelling a surge in petrochemical prices. Paraxylene (PX) prices hit a 2-year high this week on speculative activity and production problems at a couple of Chinese plants, reports ICIS news. Spot […]

Advantage US?

By Malini Hariharan The advent of shale gas and a fall in natural gas prices has already altered the fortunes of US ethane-based petrochemical producers. And now a new report says that the advantage is here to stay. The Energy Information Agency (EIA) estimates that the US has 1,744 tcf (trillion cubic feet) of technically […]

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