ICIS - chemical podcasts

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--In this podcast, ICIS analysts Whitney Shi and Jady Ma talk about supply and demand changes in China’s Group III base oils market.

The Asian and European butanediol (BDO) markets have faced differing availability during Q1, with Europe dealing with tightness because of the difficulty in importing volumes, while Asia supply remains more than sufficient and has seen little impact from the Red Sea disruptions. But the key issue of subdued demand, which impacted global markets in 2023, is set to persist in the short term.  Europe tightness due to challenges in importing from Asia, hurting initial plans China and Asia supply adequate even with upcoming maintenances China import enquiries heard for arrival in Europe during second half of Q2 Demand from downstream sectors set to stay tepid across regions In this podcast, ICIS editors Corey Chew and Yashas Mudumbai discuss the outlook for BDO in both Asia and Europe.

Exploring the impact of high costs and Asian imports on petrochemical sites in Europe, with Indorama Ventures and BASF facing operational challenges. The shift towards cost-effective operations in Europe and Asia, the hurdles of maintaining competitive assets in a high-cost environment, and the implications of China's capacity growth on trade dynamics are discussed. Navigating global instability and strategic challenges in the chemical industry requires proactive scenario planning amidst unpredictable environments.

Market activity for technical grade urea (TGU) appears to be gathering pace in several regions like Europe and Asia, backed by growing demand for AdBlue. ICIS is planning to capture the excitement in this space with the launch of three new price quotes on 14 March, which include FOB Russia, FOB Middle East and CFR India.Nitrates and TGU markets editor Manuja Pandey talks to senior editor Sylvia Traganida about the latest developments in the market.

LONDON (ICIS)--The global PE/PP market has been rocked by the disruption to Red Sea shipping, which has sent prices soaring, following sustained periods of weakness.The question now is, how long can this continue? With early March European offers out and some suppliers approaching the market bullishly, ICIS experts sit down to discuss all the potential influences in the coming month.Senior editor/ manager Vicky Ellis, Senior editor/manager Samantha Wright and Senior Editor Ben Lake gather to discuss the variables around the European, African and Turkish markets and what the early signs are for a potentially pivotal month.

On 27 February, OQ Chemicals' oxo-alcohols unit in  Oberhausen, Germany went offline amid technical issues, further tightening supply in Europe. Asia is also likely to see tight supply as the market moves into the second quarter, as Japan embarks on its turnaround season. Asia, Europe to see tight oxo-alcohols supply into Q2 Asian demand likely stable quarter on quarter, demand from downstream plasticisers weak Asia-Europe arbitrage window could open on tighter European supply In this podcast, ICIS editors Nicole Simpson and Julia Tan discuss the outlook for oxo-alcohols in Asia and Europe.

LONDON (ICIS)--European oxo-alcohols and most of its derivative markets have largely been defined by supply constraints, on the back of upstream challenges and the ongoing disruptions in the Suez Canal.Underlying demand is soft and stable amid the fragile macroeconomic climate. Market players are hoping for some uptick when the spring season commences.Butyl acetate reporter Marion Boakye speaks to oxo-alcohols reporter Nicole Simpson, glycol ethers reporter Cameron Birch and acrylate esters reporter Mathew Jolin Beech about market dynamics down the oxo-alcohols value chain.

Leaders are now more willing to stand up and demand positive action by the EU to save the region’s industrial value chains.  -          Antwerp Declaration shows chemicals leaders now willing to be visible-          CEOs have responsibility to help drive Europe transformation-          Regulators, politicians can deliver better infrastructure, permitting-          European Parliament elections 6-9 June may elect more business-friendly MEPs-          Fundamental shift in Europe demand patterns -          BASF expected to reinvent its Ludwigshafen Verbund site -          Future could see domination by “supermajors” or more protected, regional markets 

European editors Eashani Chavda and Nick Cleeve discuss the latest trends for methanol, acetic acid and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) in this ICIS Podcast. Disrupted Asian imports are causing supply shortages for PTA, leading to some increased domestic demand for methanol and acetic acid ahead of the peak demand season in Q2.

The overall picture for European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is bleak; the market is likely to be impacted by oversupply in 2024, and demand will still be low in Europe for H1.However, there may be domestic sales opportunities which take advantage of delays to import arrivals from Asia.ICIS Senior Editor Chris Barker interviews ICIS Analyst Valentina Cherubin on the outlook for 2024.