The war in Ukraine has caused oil and especially gas price volatility, as restricted flows from Russia to Ukraine caused values to spike to record-breaking levels before collapsing to pre-war levels. Since December 2022, unseasonably mild winter weather hit demand, reversing gas prices. However millions of tonnes of chemical and fertilizer production remain offline across […]
Major PE exporters to China see their sales fall by a further $1 billion
September 9, 2023 By
A further billion dollars of polyethylene (PE) sales in China were lost year-on-year by the major exporters in January-July 2023 versus January-June 2023, according to my latest estimates. These assessments make use of CFR (cost & freight) China ICIS Pricing assessments and the China Customs’ department’s records – via our Supply & Demand Database – […]
GB needs 60-100TWh of hydrogen storage by 2050, salt caverns recommended
September 9, 2023 By
LONDON (ICIS)–A report from the UK’s Royal Society published 8 September said that Great Britain needs as much as 100TWh of storage capacity by 2050 to manage periods of low renewable generation, with hydrogen storage in salt caverns the preferred option for storage. The report states that GB could have as much as 200GW of […]
Railroads, chem trade groups reviewing new STB proposal on reciprocal switching
September 9, 2023 By
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Trade groups representing US railroads and chemical producers and distributors are pouring over a proposed new rule on reciprocal switching issued today by the US agency that oversees railroads. The Surface Transportation Board (STB), which oversees railroads in the US, said the new rule focuses on providing customers access to reciprocal switching as a […]
Moldova urges neighbouring gas grid operators to increase Trans-Balkan capacity
September 9, 2023 By
LONDON (ICIS)–Moldova has urged for increased capacity in reverse flow along the Trans-Balkan pipeline to facilitate larger regional gas imports amid energy curtailment risks. Speaking to ICIS, Constantin Borosan, secretary of state in the country’s ministry of energy said Moldova is ready to find a solution to increase compression along the route for security of […]
Global PE capacity may have to be 23m tonnes/year lower in 2023-2030 to end the downturn
August 26, 2023 By
Global polyethylene (PE) capacity across all three grades may have to be as much as 23m tonnes/year lower than the ICIS base case between 2023 and 2030 to return operating rates to healthy historic average. This assumes annual average demand growth in China of 1.2% per year versus our base case of 3.3% in this […]
