Americas top stories: weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from ICIS News from the week ended 22 December:

Formosa to expand US PVC capacity in Louisiana by ’20
Formosa Plastics USA said on Monday that it would expand its polyvinyl chloride(PVC) production in the US by 2020, becoming the second producer to reveal expansion plans in recent weeks.

Inter Pipeline to build PDH, PP complex in Canada
Inter Pipeline’s board of directors has approved the construction of a $3.5bn integrated propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and polypropylene (PP) plant in Alberta, Canada, the company said on Monday.

US Dec epoxy resin contracts rise on feedstock, imports
US December epoxy resin contracts were assessed higher this week, primarily due to higher feedstock costs and higher import prices.

CP Chem’s ethane cracker in Texas is mechanically complete
Chevron Phillips Chemical’s (CP Chem) ethane cracker at Cedar Bayou in Baytown, Texas, has reached mechanical completion, the company said on Wednesday.

OUTLOOK ’18: Crude oil to face tightening fundamentals, active geopolitics
The global crude oil glut is on the wane, although not necessarily as the direct effect of OPEC’s supply management efforts: The loose collective agreement may have supported market sentiment, but it is tearing at the seams.

US December propylene contracts settle up 1 cent/lb
US December propylene contracts have settled at an increase of 1 cent/lb from the previous month, market sources said on Thursday.

OUTLOOK ’18: Increasing US BD supply putting pressure on sellers
Supply of domestic butadiene (BD) in 2018 is expected to increase on the start-up of several new crackers, putting pressure on domestic BD producers to increase market share.

US December PP contracts rollover as buyers resist further increases
US polypropylene (PP) contracts for December settled at a rollover as earlier margin expansions were reversed in the face of steadily climbing monomer costs.

OUTLOOK ’18: US PE market facing downward pressure on supply overhang
The US polyethylene (PE) market will be facing some downward pressure at the start of 2018 as several large capacity additions are expected to result in longer supply.