ICIS - chemical podcasts

European petrochemical leaders should take inspiration from Japan, which is further ahead in reducing base chemicals while expanding in specialties and low carbon technologies. 

-          Japan hit by high naphtha feedstock costs, growing global overcapacity-          70% of crackers are more than 50 years old-          More than 10% of Japan’s crackers could close-          Downstream production also closing such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and paraxylene (PX)-          Japan basic chemicals losing ground, new focus on specialties -          Pushing materials for semiconductors, electronics -          Also expanding into bio-naphtha and pyrolysis oil -          Japan’s chemical companies want to licence recycling technologies-          Using ammonia and hydrogen to reduce dependence on LNG-          South Korea chemicals face existential crisis

Typhoon Gaemi will test the resilience of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply chain, causing temporary shipment delays and port closures.

CHENGDU (ICIS) -- Asia’s epichlorohydrin (ECH) market has been relatively flat in recent months, a situation that has been prolonged by the persistent supply overhang in Asia and the lack of demand outlets. Weak performance in derivative epoxy resins market to endureReduced run rates likely to remain a key response from ECH makersUpcoming capacities to add pressure on a structurally long supply pictureIn this podcast, markets reporter Michelle Liew discusses trends in the Asia ECH market, as well as the near-term outlook.

SINGAPORE (ICIS) -- China's installed capacity of gas power generation is projected to surpass 150 GW by 2025, representing roughly 6% of the country's total installed power generation capacity. This presents substantial investment prospects within China and aligns with the nation's ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Hydrogen, often regarded as a potential fuel for blending with natural gas, offers a promising avenue for reducing emissions from power generation. In this podcast, ICIS senior LNG analyst Xu Fei will delve into the mechanics of hydrogen-fueled gas turbines and their potential to significantly cut carbon emissions.

Senior Editor for PET, Caroline Murray, and Senior Editor for Recycling, Matt Tudball talk about the current state of the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and recycled PET (R-PET) markets and the uncertainties both face for the rest of the year. These include:

PET feedstock situationHigh freight costs impacting availabilityCapacity growth in AsiaUpcoming recycled content targets for R-PETLimited availability of food-grade R-PET pellets

SHANGHAI (ICIS)—In this podcast, markets reporter Shannen Ng discusses how northeast Asia’s methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) supply is expected to remain tight as Q3 progresses, however, poor demand expectations in the Asian import markets for the rest of this quarter remain.

Polymeric MDI sentiment in SE Asia, India supported by tight supplyMonomeric MDI particularly sluggish and expected to remain soWeak demand outlook for China’s downstream construction and automotive sectors

SINGAPORE (ICIS) -- In this podcast, Asia ethylene editor Josh Quah and analyst Aliena Huang discuss the factors impacting arbitrage flows of ethylene from the US to Asia.

Spot arbitrage window between US and Asia closed but term arrivals for July remain healthyStorm Beryl, low affordability in Asia, may keep spot arbitrage trades closed into AugPanama Canal traffic levels expected to return to pre-congestion levels by Oct

SINGAPORE (ICIS) -- In this podcast, ICIS analysts Patricia Tao, Lewis Unstead and Aliena Huang delve into how the upcoming CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) will impact China’s export-oriented manufacturing sectors and hydrogen’s crucial role in its low-carbon economy.

China's national energy law draft includes hydrogen, a shift towards low-carbon Move comes ahead of EU's CBAMCBAM to affect global trade, particularly for high-emission products

LONDON (ICIS) -- Europe’s run up to holiday season has been unusually busy for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) markets, including some spot prices reversing for the first time since March 2024.

In this ICIS podcast, European PE and PP senior editors Vicky Ellis and Ben Lake pick out July’s big themes, from logistics (hurricane Beryl and still-spiked Asian freight rates) to the mismatch between how local suppliers and converters are experiencing demand this month.

They also highlight what to watch for August.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published the July World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) report, which shows that corn production is forecasted to increase by 240m bushels while for soybeans the outlook is for a decrease by 15m bushels.Senior editor Mark Milam talks to Sylvia Traganida about the report and the latest developments in the US market.