Issue 6/2016 - U.S. petrochemical project investment advantage remains

The investment advantage of US petrochemical projects remains

Cheap energy and raw materials have attracted hundreds of chemical projects to North America, but most of the projects are planned with oil prices 2~3 times the current oil prices, so in the current situation of sharp decline in oil prices, will these projects still advance? By the time oil prices hit a trough, the advantage of North American petrochemical projects had weakened
significantly.
The prospects for projects planned for investment in a situation where oil prices exceed $100 a barrel are worrying
.
However, shale gas will continue to allow U.
S.
petrochemical producers to enjoy lower feedstock prices for a long time to come, and a recovery in demand and profitability will spur a revival
in capital investment.
Petrochemical projects already under construction will continue to move forward, while new projects continue to be announced, albeit at a slower
pace.

The global TPE market will continue to grow rapidly in the coming years

According to Smithers Rapra's latest "2020 Global Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE) Market Outlook" report, the global TPE market will continue to grow rapidly in the next few years, Asia is the world's fastest growing and largest TPE market, including polystyrene TPE (TPE-S), polyolefin TPE (TPE-O) and polyvinyl chloride TPE (TPE-V) bulk TPEs are driving the growth of the global TPE market, while polyester TPEs ( TPE-E) is a rising star
in the global TPE market.
Global thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) consumption is estimated to have increased from 3.
7 million tons in 2013 to 4.
1 million tons in 2015, and will further increase to 5.
4 million tons in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.
5%
during 2015~2020.
Over the same period, the TPE market in Asia Pacific will grow at a CAGR of 7.
3%, with the rest of the world growing at 5.
1%, while Europe and NAFTA areas will grow at 3.
2% and 4%
respectively.

The North Sea oil and gas industry is in a difficult situation

The British Oil & Gas UK recently said that in the context of the historic collapse in oil prices, the UK's decades-old offshore oil and gas industry is on the verge of sliding into the abyss; The collapse in oil prices has plunged nearly half of the region's field-run fields into losses and limited investment in
new projects.
Less than £1 billion ($1.
41 billion) of new funding is expected to be approved for UK North Sea oil and gas projects this year, well below the average annual investment of
£8 billion over the past five years, the report said.
Without new investment, oil and gas production in the UK North Sea could be halved to 800,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2025, well below the level
of more than 3.
2 million barrels of oil equivalent/day in the region's heyday in the 80s, the trade association said.