Pandemic’s third wave seems unlikely to damage global petrochemicals demand

Article | February 19, 2020

A bill recently passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly would subsidize the use of fracked gas to produce petrochemicals. At some point—i.e., at a time chosen by the state Senate—H B 1100 will be sent to Governor Wolf, who has promised a veto despite override threats. Meanwhile, Pennsylvanians are trying to understand the bill and its potential impacts. That hasn't been easy, because as with the petrochemical subsidy bills Pennsylvania enacted in 2012, the General Assembly has not held a single hearing on the legislation. The purpose of this blog is to help fill that gap.

CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT

Article | February 19, 2020

IT FEELS LIKE several lifetimes ago. If you recall, way back in November-December 2019 Asian variable cost integrated naphtha-based polyethylene (PE) margins turned negative because of the increase in US capacity. Then in January the following year, deep Asian and Middle East operating rate cuts returned some order to the market. Then, bang, as we all know, the pandemic arrived and turned everything on its head. The pandemic has, in my view, accentuated trends that were already well underway. I believe this means that the supply-driven downturn that started in late 2019 will not return.Long before coronavirus upended everyone’s lives, PE demand was becoming increasingly divorced from GDP growth because of the shifting nature of end-use demand. Booming internet sales was, I believe, a major factor behind the split between the growth of the overall economies in the developed world plus China and PE demand.The average product bought online is dropped 17 times because of the large number of people involved in the logistics chain, according to Forbes. This had led to a surge in demand for protective packaging made not from PE and other polymers such as polypropylene, expandable polystyrene and PET films (I will look at their demand growth prospects in later posts).Despite sustainability pressures, the scale of demand for stuff bought online translated to a lot more consumption of virgin polymers.

Article | February 19, 2020

The U.S. chemical industry has a vital role to play in response to COVID-19. Following President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency, one of the first steps the American Chemistry Council took on behalf of its members was to secure federal designation of the U.S. chemical industry and its workers as “essential critical infrastructure.” This means that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified the chemical industry and its employees as an industry sector critical to public health and safety, as well as economic and national security.

Article | February 19, 2020

Unwanted weeds and vegetation don’t have to be controlled with harmful and dangerous chemicals. There are plenty of non-chemical and organic methods of weed control that are reliable and safe to use, such as Foamstream. Non-chemical weed control is the process of killing weeds without harmful toxins. This is sometimes referred to as cultural or organic weed control, with methods ranging from hoeing and hand-pulling, to hot water and of course, Foamstream.