ICIS - chemical podcasts

SINGAPORE (ICIS) -- Asia styrene prices continued to be under pressure, while downstream margins began to recover. Downstream polymer margins stabilise after SM corrections 2026 contract discussions could progress slowly, greater focus on FOB China China's major role in Asia SM remains under spotlight amid further supply expansion In this chemical podcast, Asia styrene editors Luffy Wu and Aviva Zhang discuss recent market developments, and the outlook ahead, following their observations in the industry conference held last week in Xi'an, China.

The European base oils market is facing key challenges with strong capacity growth and a transition from Group I to Group II and Group III, while re-refined base oils have been growing in popularity due to consistent quality, attractive prices and their circular aspect. The ICIS base oils team attended the 60th UEIL Congress in Italy, engaging with key players in the industry on the latest market developments.Samantha Wright, Sophie Udubasceanu and Alessia Succi Cimentini discuss the key takeaways from the conference and what awaits the European base oils industry. 

Ongoing weak demand pressure, rising import trends, and interest in recycling sets the tone at K in Dusseldorf, Germany, one of Europe’s key downstream plastics industry events.Markets editor Stephanie Wix and markets reporter Sam Lovatt unpack the highlights and major talking points from K in this podcast, focusing on Europe acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polystyrene (PS), expandable polystyrene (EPS), polycarbonate (PC), and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) markets.

Asia olefin players open their 2026 contract talks at a trade conference Xi’an, China, this week, with fundamentals in oversupply and supply pressure likely to ramp up in 2026. Asia ethylene will continue grappling with oversupply from new capacities in 2026 Arbitrage flows could be here to stay with supply imbalances in southeast Asia Asia propylene wrestles with propane challenges, squeezed margins Availability of US propane a key concern for 2026 2025 Enmore Contract Season trade conference took place this week in Xi’an, China Podcast by Josh Quah and Julia TanEditing by Will Beacham

With the problem of plastic pollution growing, especially in Asia, an innovative project by Borealis and partners aims to build scalable, low-cost municipal waste systems in regions where infrastructure is lacking. Indonesia is the world’s second-largest source of ocean plastic Project STOP targets unmanaged waste in Indonesia 13,300 tonnes of plastic collected since 2017 launch Project STOP aims to reach 2 million people  Local governments lead operations to ensure long-term viability Accenture’s digital tools improve efficiency and transparency Project STOP is open-source and designed for replication

Political leaders in Europe must boost availability of cheap energy and deregulate or risk deeper deindustrialization, according to Peter Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman.  -      AI will require vast amounts of cheap energy, Europe disadvantaged-      EU energy policies have closed access to huge reserves of oil and gas-      Europe has outsourced manufacturing, often to more polluting regions-      CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) does not work, increases costs of imported raw materials-      Tackle climate change through use of innovative materials, nuclear fusion-      Tariffs are hurting any nascent economic recovery-      Don’t expect strong economic bounce back in 2026-      US reshoring will drive industrial and chemicals demand -      China-driven overcapacity will persist for several yearsICIS journalist Will Beacham interviews Peter Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman

European phthalic anhydride (PA) reporter Gabrielle Jordan and plasticizers reporter Marion Boakye discuss market developments into Q4, highlighting key talking points from the European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) annual meeting held from 22–25 September in Berlin, Germany.Demand in both markets is expected to remain subdued into 2026, with sentiment for the coming year projected to closely mirror 2025 levels.Topics discussed include: Subdued downstream demand Local supply and import flows Market expectations for 2026 Podcast by Marion Boakye and Gabrielle Jordan

SINGAPORE (ICIS)- In this chemical podcast, Senior editors Emily Friedman and Arianne Perez discuss the implications of recently added reciprocal tariffs on the recycled PET (R-PET) markets in the US and Asia. US buyers continue navigating supply needs, tariff cost sharing Asia prices fall to record lows as US-bound exports contract US short term fundamentals unchanged, though prices gradually move up

SINGAPORE (ICIS) – Fatty alcohols mid-cuts C12-14 are expected to see sluggish demand in the near term amid the festive holidays in some countries in Asia. Meanwhile, its substitute linear alkyl benzene (LAB) is likely to see some supply lengthening in 2026, even as demand conditions continue to be optimistic. New LAB capacities in China, India and Mideast slated for Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 Fatty alcohols mid-cuts to see less uptake during festive season in India, China Impact of delay in EUDR on feedstock PKO yet to be seen In this podcast, ICIS senior editors, Clive Ong and Helen Yan discuss recent market conditions with an outlook ahead in Asia.

LONDON (ICIS)--In the wake of the European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) conference in Berlin, Germany, players are looking inward to find the levers for growth in the face of expectations that the industrial downturn will continue to drag on.   In this ICIS Think Tank podcast, ICIS insight editor Tom Brown interviews Paul Hodges, chairman of New Normal Consulting.