Europe top stories: weekly summary

LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Europe for the week ended 12 October.

EPCA ’18: Economic uncertainty, upward pressure on oil colour Europe petchems outlook
Nervousness about Europe’s manufacturing economy and the rising crude oil price colour the petrochemicals outlook at the start of the fourth quarter.

EPCA ’18: Pessimism descends upon Europe petchems as challenges mount – EPCA president
European petrochemicals face several challenges amid an increasingly uncertain geopolitical outlook but the real, long-term test for the industry will be sustainability and how to become participants of a true circular economy, the president of the European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) said.

EPCA ’18: SABIC’s stake at Clariant strategic, firms to create more synergies in Q1 – CEO
SABIC’s 24.99% stake in Swiss chemicals producer Clariant is a “strategic” move and more synergies between the two companies will be announced in the first quarter of 2019, the CEO of the Saudi petrochemicals major said.

EPCA ’18: BASF alert to risk from possible global economic downturn
The world economy may be taking a turn for the worse and BASF remains alert over any potential impact on its operations, the head of petrochemicals at the German chemical major said.

EPCA ’18: US MDI project follows Covestro’s strategy of producing close to main markets – CEO
Covestro’s decision to locate its new methyl di-p-phenylene isocyanate (MDI) plant in the US follows its long-term strategy of having production within its main regional markets, the company’s CEO said.

EPCA ’18: Europe petrochemicals must face up to multiple challenges – consultant
Europe’s petrochemical sector must prepare now for the trade war, US start-ups, Brexit and the circular economy, a leading chemicals consultant says.

EPCA ’18: Petchems decarbonisation may take ‘half a century’ – former US energy secretary
The petrochemicals industry’s decarbonisation process may take “half a century” from now until it completely becomes carbon dioxide (CO2) free, a former US secretary of energy said.

EPCA ’18: ‘High odds’ for no-deal Brexit to hit chems hard, adds to gloomy global outlook – KPMG
The chemical industry’s supply chain will greatly suffer from a disorderly UK departure from the EU, with this being just one of many risk factors causing a more negative outlook on the global economy, according to the global head of chemicals at KPMG.

Europe chems stocks fall amid global stock market rout
European chemicals and petrochemicals shares fell on Thursday amid a market sell-off in indices across the globe, as investors worry about the health of the global economy amid the US-China trade war.

NWE Europe chems ‘praying for rain’ as extreme low Rhine levels wreak havoc
Chronic low water levels on key shipping artery the River Rhine are continuing to wreak havoc on chemicals producers in northwest Europe (NWE), with lows in some spots the worst in more than two decades at some points, according to sources.

EPCA ’18: Cheap bunker fuel post-2020 out, shippers to rely on oil majors – Hapag-Lloyd
Haggling for cheap fuel may no longer be the top concern for shippers who consider access to correct fuels and compatibility between them as paramount for guaranteed performance on the high seas, with oil majors in the spotlight to cater to their demands with a “hybrid” fuel, an executive at shipping major Hapag-Lloyd said this week.

EU Parliament’s committee backs ban on single-use plastics by 2021
A number of single-use plastic products will be banned in the EU from 2021, according to draft plans approved this week by the European Parliament’s environment and public health committee.