Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 10 September.

Europe BD spot export prices poised to firm further
European butadiene (BD) spot export prices are poised for further increases as the Asian price uptrend continued on the back of stocking activities in China, market sources said on Friday.

African PE, PP prices buck global trend
Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) prices are currently rising in most regions around the world.

PODCAST: ICIS Europe Chemical update – CX and capro market dynamics
Eashani Chavda, editor of the ICIS global cyclohexane report, talks to Ciaran Tyler, editor of the European caprolactam (capro) and nylon reports, about recent developments in these markets and the impact of disruption in US production from Hurricane Harvey.

INSIGHT: ICIS Top 100 data show companies gaining ground in drive for growth
Preparing a list of the leading chemical companies by sales always highlights some trends worthy of note. Perhaps this year, the annual ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies listing emphasises the struggle for growth and the ways in which companies have used mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to achieve their goals, the pressure on organic growth being widely apparent globally.

Low-cost ethylene allows INEOS to tap into Europe VAM deficit with new plant – exec
INEOS’ return to the European vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) market, four years after closing its UK plant, makes sense after global and regional conditions changed dramatically and with the advent of cheaper feedstocks, the CEO of INEOS Oxide said this week.

EU firms’ ECHA export notifications up, agency asks for more resources
EU chemical companies have increased their notifications with information on the export of hazardous chemicals by 74% in the last three years, according to new data from the European Chemical Agency (ECHA).

INSIGHT INTERACTIVE: August IPEX climbs on Asia surge, Harvey concerns
A 23.9% surge in ethylene prices in northeast Asia last month, and the downstream impact of the increase, helped lift the August northeast Asia ICIS Petrochemical Index (IPEX) by 6.8% and push the global index higher by 3.5%, the data showed on Tuesday.

Germany’s BASF firefighter dies from injuries of Ludwigshafen accident
A firefighter suffering injuries from BASF’s accident at its main site at Ludwigshafen in 2016 has passed away, the German chemical major said on Tuesday.

INEOS plans to build 300,000 tonne/year VAM plant in Europe
LONDON (ICIS)–INEOS Oxide is planning to build a vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) plant with annual production capacity of 300,000 tonnes in Europe with capital expenditure (capex) between €100m and €500m, a spokesperson for the Switzerland-headquartered petrochemicals major said on Tuesday.

Germany’s BASF first again in ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies listing
Germany’s BASF has held its position as the world’s leading chemical company with $60.1bn in sales in 2016, according to the ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies listing on Tuesday.

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