Kristen Hays and Yi-Jeng Huang
US and Asia petrochemicals 
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March 19, 2019 09:49 UTC 
(4)
Trade in polyethylene resin and finished products slowed in the fourth quarter of 2018, becoming a casualty of the US-China trade war. Last year, the Trump Administration launched a full-scale trade war with China, imposing three rounds of tariffs worth a cumulative $250 billion on Chinese products. › Continue Reading |
S&P Global Platts Staff
EMEA
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February 27, 2019 12:37 UTC
(0)
US-China trade tensions were in the spotlight last year across commodity markets, and the petrochemicals sector was by no means untouched. Antidumping duties introduced by China on the imports of some origins of styrene – used to make packaging and other plastic and synthetic rubber products – altered trade flows significantly. One result has been an increase in trading activity within Europe. › Continue Reading |
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Luke Milner and Ben Brooks
Associate editors, petrochemicals
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February 21, 2019 09:28 UTC
(3)
This is the concluding article in a three-part series exploring oil, plastics demand and sustainability. European governments and corporates are setting ambitious goals on plastics recycling, but there are practical and economic hurdles to get over if the policies are to be a success. Not only do some countries’ domestic markets lag behind, but there is a general reliance on material from countries such as Germany and the Netherlands where more inroads have been made to cope with high levels of demand. |
Paul Hickin
Associate editorial director
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February 20, 2019 08:25 UTC
(1)
This is the second installment in a three-part series exploring oil, plastics demand and sustainability. Plastics and chemicals will account for the largest share of global crude demand growth by 2030, and a third wave of petrochemicals expansion underway in the Middle East is looking to cash in on the trend, as investment into downstream petroleum industries will become a critical demand driver for oil markets in the future. Industrialized economies use up to 20 times more plastic and up to 10 times more fertilizer than developing nations on a per person basis, underscoring the huge potential for global growth. The International Energy Agency expects petrochemicals to account for almost half of global oil demand growth by 2050, equivalent to almost 7 million b/d. |
Philip Reeder
Associate editor, light ends
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February 19, 2019 06:30 UTC
(8)
This is the first installment in a three-part series exploring oil, plastics demand and sustainability. Barely a week goes by without another headline decrying the use of plastics and plastic packaging in Europe. Plastics are clogging up our oceans, overflowing our landfill sites and even finding their way into our food. But as the world wakes up to the environmental damage caused by plastic waste and pollution, it may come as a surprise to learn that the industry is looking to dramatically ramp up production, not slow it down. |
Yi-Jeng Huang
Senior Market Development Specialist - Asia
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October 15, 2018 00:01 UTC
(2)
The global plastics supply chain is changing as the US-China trade war intensifies, and Vietnam’s plastic resin end-users are poised to benefit. While Vietnam is already a manufacturing hub for plastic finished goods due to its low labor costs and business-friendly environment, the recent trade war between global giants is providing an additional boost as key resin costs decline. |
Annette Hugh
Director, Americas Market Development
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March 27, 2018 11:01 UTC
(1)
Global trade set the tone and official theme for this year’s American Fuel and Petrochemicals Manufacturers International Petrochemical Conference in San Antonio this week, as chemical interests from around the world met to conduct business and exchange information. The official conference theme of global trade is underpinned by the resurgence of the US market’s growth in exports in crude, refined products as well as petrochemicals and plastics. Topics of interest were around investment in new plant buildouts both in the US and around the world, and what competitive factors could make or break those projects, including the future curve for crude oil. › Continue Reading |
Shashank Shekhar
Editor
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October 5, 2017 15:00 UTC
(6)
Middle Eastern petrochemical companies are known for their lavish hospitality, but at a cocktail party organized by a major Saudi company in Berlin recently, the atmosphere was quite somber. A conversation with one of the hosts on the impact of shale gas went some way to explaining this. “We are worried that the Americans will be able to sell their products [polymers] into China at prices cheaper than we can,” he fretted. |
Hetain Mistry
Analyst
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September 7, 2017 14:00 UTC
(8)
Worldwide polyethylene capacity is seen to grow from 108.3 million mt in 2016 to 150 million mt by 2027, with around 10 million mt of speculative capacity included into our forecasts post 2024. Platts Analytics expects production to grow from 93 million mt in 2016 to 133.6 million mt by 2027. Global operating rates are expected to average 85.3% in that time period. However, during the period of excessive capacity additions led by the US, China and Iran between 2017 and 2023, rates are expected to average just below 83%, dropping to as low as 81.9% in 2020 to balance the market. |
Kristen Hays
Senior petrochemicals editor
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August 8, 2017 05:01 UTC
(2)
Two North Texas joint ventures between resin packaging companies and railroads that aim to move some of the looming swell in US Gulf Coast polyethylene output to California for export have been delayed to 2018, the companies said. |
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