OPIS Blog

March 1, 2024
Petrochemicals

USGC Polyethylene Exports Set New Record as More Supply Looms

US polyethylene (PE) spot prices finished 2023 flat to 3cts/lb lower than a year earlier as producers increased exports to...

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January 23, 2024
Petrochemicals, Propylene

Polypropylene 2024 Demand Outlook

The US polypropylene (PP) industry was buffeted by weak demand in 2023, and that may well continue in 2024. The...

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July 26, 2023
Petrochemicals

The Changing Face of the European Toluene Contract Price Mechanism

To CP or not to CP – that’s the question. Or is it? Participants in the European toluene market seem...

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July 18, 2023
Petrochemicals

Dow Plaquemine Blast: What We Know

The flames that lit up the night sky at Plaquemine, Louisiana, on July 14, 2023, have died, the fire associated...

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June 2, 2023
Petrochemicals

Asia Remains Key to U.S. Polyethylene Industry’s Export Strategy

US polyethylene producers have a domestic demand problem, with year-to-date sales to North American customers off nearly 9%, according to...

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April 14, 2023
Petrochemicals, Plastics

Earth Month Special Report: Turning Plastic Trash Into a Commodity

Despite efforts to reduce plastic waste, the world’s rubbish pile continues to build.

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February 20, 2023
Petrochemicals, PVC

US PVC Producers Seek to Hold onto Gains Amid Construction Slowdown

The US PVC market saw an unusually volatile year in 2021, to say the least, and saw another one in...

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January 20, 2023
Petrochemicals, Plastics

Chemical Recycling of Plastic Emerges as Dominant Theme

Chemical recycling, particularly in the U.S., was a dominant theme of the recycled plastics industry in 2022, and it’s creating...

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December 1, 2022
Petrochemicals, Plastics

European Chemicals’ Complicated Relationship with its Benzene CP Window

For the European benzene market, perhaps only the football World Cup (which most of us have been watching on our...

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November 17, 2022
Petrochemicals, Plastics

PVC Pipe Plants Shut by Storm; Low-Demand Market Mitigates Impact

Hurricane Nicole’s landfall on the US East Coast caused a sigh of relief among the refining community as the Texas/Louisiana...

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November 2, 2022
Petrochemicals, Plastics

The Circuitous Route of the Global Styrene Chain

The world party of the styrenics chain of late has seen benzene traveling from Europe to the US and polystyrene...

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October 11, 2022
Petrochemicals, Plastics

The PVC Ride Slows Down as Pipe Inventories Build

Despite the desire to put the chaos and trauma caused by the Coronavirus pandemic of the past 3+ years behind...

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June 17, 2021
Ethylene, Petrochemicals

Enterprise Ethylene Futures Contract Opens on CME; Hub Links to Global Market

We can’t see into exactly what the future holds for US ethylene, but ethylene futures are now tradable at two...

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December 21, 2020
Ethylene, Petrochemicals

Discussion with Enterprise Products co-CEO Jim Teague about Historic Moment for US Gulf Coast Ethylene and Exports

The year 2020 was significant in the evolution of the US Gulf Coast ethylene market due to the opening of...

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September 29, 2020
Ethylene, Petrochemicals, Propylene

US Ethylene & Propylene Supply Chain Rebounds After a Shaky Few Months

Our last blogpost in early April ended on a deeply uncertain note. Lockdowns in the US had just begun a...

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April 6, 2020
Petrochemicals

Ethylene and Propylene Prices in 2020: Two Market Stories

Ethylene and propylene prices have had an interesting start to the year – both markets have seen prices drop, but...

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October 21, 2019
Petrochemicals, Spot Market

Polyethylene Exports & the U.S. & China Trade War

The U.S. polyethylene (PE) industry has spent massive resources during the past decade to capitalize on abundant, low-cost raw materials...

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July 1, 2019
Petrochemicals, Spot Market

U.S. Ethylene Prices in Q2 2019: Where Have All the Traders Gone?

Ethylene prices are having a tough year. Trading liquidity has dried up in a market that has shed 30% of...

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February 25, 2019
Petrochemicals, Spot Market

U.S. Ethylene Prices in Q1 2019: Less-Than-Happy New Year

As yet, the year 2019 has not provided much in the way of a Happy New Year for ethylene sellers....

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January 28, 2019
Petrochemicals, Spot Market

Petrochemicals 101: The In’s & Out’s of the ‘Enes

The building blocks of the petrochemical world often take a back seat to the stars of the energy and manufacturing world. Let’s give...

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