PODCAST: BP disposal raises questions over petchems as oil and gas sector lifeline

LONDON (ICIS)–BP’s decision to sell the bulk of its petrochemicals assets raises questions over the narrative of the sector as a saviour for the oil and gas industry, as some players start to look  beyond the hydrocarbon era.

– Peak oil demand may have been reached last year

– Oil majors may be starting to look beyond fossil fuels toward post-hydrocarbon industry drivers

– Trend toward zero-emissions regulation may leave sectors such as recycling more attractive

– Rise in coronavirus infection rates raise fears for industry

– China may become a polypropylene (PP) exporter in the next few years

– Pandemic may drive supply chain reshoring as manufacturing reinvents itself

– Protracted period of energy oversupply undercuts the idea of cost-advantaged feedstocks.

Listen to this podcast interview with Paul Hodges, chairman at consultancy International eChem; John Richardson, ICIS Senior Consultant, Asia;  ICIS Insight Editor Nigel Davis.

Front page picture: BP’s logo above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
Source: Richard Drew/AP/Shutterstock

Podcast interview by Tom Brown

Read more analysis of chemical market trends in this week’s ICIS Chemical Business.

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Read Paul Hodges ICIS Chemicals and the Economy blog

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