Episode 1256: Players face up to reinvention of the chems sector post-EPCA

10/17/24 • 34 min

Chemicals sector executives are increasingly facing up to the idea that the sector is going through a process of reinvention, with no big recovery on the horizon and a return to pre-crisis normalcy less likely. Executives are now looking at what the next steps for the sector will be.

In this Think Tank podcast, Tom Brown interviews Paul Hodges, chairman of New Normal Consulting, Katherine Sale, ICIS head of editorial strategy, and Chris Barker, senior editor covering PVC and caustic soda, on impressions from the EPCA assembly.

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Episode 1255: EPCA '24 PODCAST: MX, PX and OX demand forecasts of no major recovery 2025

According to attendees at the annual European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) conference in Berlin held during 7-10 October, consumption in 2025 is not expected to recover for mixed xylenes (MX), paraxylene (PX) and orthoxylene (OX), with various hurdles highlighted.

In this episode, market editors Zubair Adam (MX) and Miguel Rodriguez Fernandez (PX, OX) along with Rob Peacock, ICIS lead analyst for aromatics, share the sentiment captured after talking with various market players at the conference.

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Episode 1257: PODCAST: Asia ethylene players kick off 2025 contract discussions in China

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--With 2025 contract discussions for Asia ethylene underway at the olefins trade conference in Xiamen, China, ICIS markets editor Josh Quah outlines what’s at the top of the list of concerns for players as they look ahead to the coming year.

Players may take steps to hedge against unpredictability of deep-sea cargoes
China’s new capacity takes shape, but lengthy domestic supply may not yet spillover to the import-export market
Greater interest from producers to study the feasibility of incorporating ethane as part of cracker feedstock slate