Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 21 December.

Europe naphtha-based cracker margins rise, LPG margins fall week on week
European cracker margins based on naphtha feedstock have risen following a fall in euro-denominated naphtha values, ICIS margin analysis has shown.

EU says Mercosur FTA talks end without agreement, will restart in 2019
A round of talks to reach a free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and Mercosur ended without agreement, but negotiations will restart in 2019, a Commission spokesman has confirmed.

EU Commission implements contingency action plan for ‘no deal’ Brexit, sector specific measures
The European Commission is moving ahead “urgently” with implementation of its Contingency Action Plan in the face of Brexit uncertainty, it said.

Swiss Clariant mulls alkoxylates joint venture with SABIC’s subsidiary Kayan
Clariant is mulling the creation of a joint venture to produce alkoxylates in Saudi Arabia with SABIC affiliate Saudi Kayan, the Switzerland-headquartered specialty chemicals producer said.

BP, Azerbaijan’s SOCAR mull 1.25m tonne/year PTA joint venture in Turkey
BP and Azerbaijan’s crude oil major SOCAR’s subsidiary in Turkey are mulling the creation of a joint venture for purified terephthalic acid (PTA) with a 1.25m tonnes/year production capacity, the UK’s oil and petrochemicals major said.

OUTLOOK ’19: Crude oil demand to slow on tighter liquidity, higher risk of down cycle
OPEC is dead. Long live OPEC! The cartel and its leader Saudi Arabia may not have the influence they had a decade ago, but 2018 has shown, if anything, that they remained critically important to global crude prices.

OUTLOOK ‘19: Europe PET supply will be the focus for 2019
The supply of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in Europe, and whether it will flow without causing surprising price swings, is what participants want to ascertain for their 2019 budgets.

OUTLOOK ‘19: Europe SBR hopes for export rebound in 2019 amid conservative local growth expectations
European styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) growth in 2019 is  expected flat or limited despite numerous downstream investments in central Europe.

OUTLOOK ’19: Europe BDO demand expectations subdued amid global uncertainties
European butanediol (BDO) players are adopting a wait-and-see approach to 2019 market dynamics, with previous optimism for market growth dwindling as uncertainty festered in late 2018.