Aromatics
Overview
The global aromatics market is made up of several diverse product markets and can be affected by a great many factors.
Benzene is a highly traded and volatile commodity because of its predominantly co-product nature and unpredictable supply. Styrene, benzene’s largest derivative, represents about 50pc of global benzene demand. Anyone involved in the benzene industry – directly or indirectly – needs market and pricing insight to anticipate supply shortages and large swings in pricing.
Meanwhile, the toluene and xylenes isomer markets are intertwined with the global markets for gasoline. Toluene and xylenes are highly traded commodities that create a lot of interest in the industry because of the various factors that affect demand growth. Outside of their inter-relationship with the gasoline markets, the major end-uses for these commodities vary across the world, from polyester fibres and food and beverage packaging to construction. Anyone involved in the toluene and xylenes industries – directly or indirectly – needs insight into how the toluene and xylenes markets can or will impact on their business, from raw material costs or as a price indicator for downstream products.
Our aromatics experts will help you determine what trends to track and how to stay competitive in today’s ever-changing global markets.
Latest aromatics news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global aromatics services industry.
BZ Credits near 5 year high after 2023 blending
BZ Credits near 5 year high after 2023 blending
Houston, 12 September (Argus) — Higher volumes of ethylbenzene (EB) into gasoline blending a year ago has led to a credit shortage, pushing prices to their highest levels since March 2021. In 2022 and 2023, US Gulf coast (USGC) naphtha inventories were long as US naphtha exports declined from 400,000-500,000b/d pre-pandemic to 100,000-200,000b/d. Over the same span of time, refiners and blenders dropped excess naphtha, a sub-octane blendstock, into the gasoline pool. This blend of gasoline spurred demand for high-octane blendstocks like EB, toluene and mixed xylenes into gasoline blending. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires gasoline with benzene content above a certain threshold to be offset by a credit generated by refining compliant gasoline. The elevated blending of EB exhausted the supply of benzene credits on the open market, which bled into 2024. Credits traded near 100¢/USG early in 2024 and rose to as high as 190¢/USG over the summer. Values now span buyer interest at 160¢/USG and seller interest at 190¢/USG. The compliance deadline for benzene credit submission is set for 31 March 2025, in which refiners must mass-balance their production over a given year and either face a credit surplus for being over-compliant or a shortage and therefore will need to procure credits on the open market. By Jake Caldwell and Matthew Cope Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Saudi Aramco takes majority stake in PetroRabigh
Saudi Aramco takes majority stake in PetroRabigh
Singapore, 7 August (Argus) — State-owned Saudi Aramco has become the majority shareholder in the PetroRabigh refining and petrochemical complex on Saudi Arabia's west coast, buying 22.5pc from its Japanese joint-venture partner Sumitomo Chemical in a $702mn deal. The acquisition takes Aramco's stake in PetroRabigh to 60pc with Sumitomo Chemical retaining 15pc. The partners previously owned 37.5pc of PetroRabigh that listed on the Saudi Exchange in 2008. All proceeds received by Sumitomo Chemical from the sale will be injected back into PetroRabigh. Aramco will also provide additional funds, matching the $702m from Sumitomo Chemical to bolster PetroRabigh's financial position and support its future strategy. The additional $1.4bn funding aims to help the company lift its balance sheet and cash liquidity, with the consortium also exploring initiatives to upgrade its 400,000 b/d refinery, the partners said. Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical have also agreed to a phased waiver of shareholder loans of $750mn each, which will result in a $1.5bn direct reduction in PetroRabigh's liabilities. Sumitomo Chemical's sale reflected its strategy to shift from basic goods to high performance products, as well as Aramco's aim to enhance its downstream sector at home and abroad. Aramco also bought a controlling share in Saudi petrochemical firm Sabic in 2020. But Sumitomo Chemical said it will continue to play a key role in refinancing PetroRabigh. The Japanese firm has struggled to handle losses from PetroRabigh, reporting a core operating loss of ¥20.7bn ($141mn) for its basic petrochemical sector during April-June, the first quarter of the 2024-25 fiscal year. It also reported an investment loss of ¥17.4bn during April-June because of worsening finances at PetroRabigh. PetroRabigh's petrochemical complex can produce up to 1.34mn t/yr of paraxylene, 450,000 t/yr of benzene and 1.625mn t/yr of mixed xylenes. Its steam cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 1.6mn t/yr, high-density polyethylene capacity of 300,000 t/yr and a low-density polyethylene capacity of 160,000 t/yr. By Joonlei Lee and Nanami Oki Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Chemical markets prepare for Canadian rail strike
Chemical markets prepare for Canadian rail strike
Houston, 2 August (Argus) — Chemical industries in North America are bracing for a potential rail strike in Canada, but some markets expect greater impacts than others. Participants across a variety of industries have expressed greater certainty that a rail strike is now likely after momentum for a strike several months prior had fizzled out. The Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) is making considerations that are due to be posted no later than 9 August, with some market participants expecting a strike to be called somewhere within 72 hours thereafter. The CIRB is evaluating what, if any, materials would be constituted as essential to move even during a strike. Chlorine The chlor-alkali market has raised concerns about a potential strike, with some suppliers of chlorine and hydrochloric acid (HCl) in Canada pushing for a strike to be delayed or for its products to be considered essential. Chlorine and HCl are both used in water treatment, and suppliers have said a prolonged stoppage in rail service without proper considerations for such products could endanger some municipal water supplies. In the lead up to a potential strike, Canadian chlor-alkali producers and their US counterparts positioned close to the Canadian border have been trying to build up buyers' on-site inventories as a precaution. Producers have warned, however, that such contingency plans only work if the strike is not prolonged, as stoppages lasting longer than a few weeks could be problematic. Wildfires across central Canada have been complicating the efforts to ensure downstream inventories, as the fires have encroached on crucial rail lines and delayed or rerouted supply. Polymers In the polymers markets, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) producers in Canada, including Nova Chemicals and Heartland Polymers, made advanced preparations for a rail strike back in May. Both companies had moved some inventories in advance to storage warehouses in the US to limit supply disruptions to US customers. In addition to storage on the US side, sources said the Canadian producers were also making plans for storage on the Canadian side so they could continue to operate, even if railcars were no longer moving. As long as a strike would not last more than a few weeks, most market participants said they believed there would be minimal disruption to the overall market. An extended strike would likely result in some shipping delays, but producers on the US side could raise operating rates and potentially help to fill in any supply gaps. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) customers in Canada had stocked up on supply back in May as well, with minimal concerns of disruption so long as any stoppage did not drag on. Some pipe producers with plants in Canada have also said the need to stock up on inventory has been lessened due to Canada's weaker economy and construction sector. Polystyrene (PS) distributors have been positioning resin supply in the northeast and Midwest to quickly move across the border if need be, but warehouses in Canada were reportedly oversupplied on PS and turning away extra railcars. Recycled polymers market participants indicated that with current low demand and low volume trades, the rail strike will likely lead to more truck usage rather than completely halting trades altogether. Chemicals The butadiene (BD) market reported that a Canadian rail strike would impact cross-border trade flows of feedstock crude C4 and BD into the US. A BD producer in Sarnia, Ontario, primarily delivers BD to US customers in the Midwest — a fact that has prompted some concern from US customers about the impacts of a potential rail strike. Some BD buyers have worried that prolonged disruptions to Canadian volumes could add tightness to the domestic US market, especially in cases where consumers are unable to source volumes from the US Gulf coast. Concerns from the ethylene and aromatics markets were muted, and the isocyanate and polyurethane (PU) markets expressed little concern as most buyers were able to bring supply in by truck. Moreover, the vast majority of supply for the isocyanate chain comes from production in the US Gulf, meaning the majority of any transit would be conducted on lines not impacted by the strike. Methanol market participants also did not express significant concerns. By Aaron May, Michelle Klump, Joshua Himelfarb, Zach Kluver, and Catherine Rabe Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
South Korea's S-Oil restarts PX unit at low run rates
South Korea's S-Oil restarts PX unit at low run rates
Singapore, 2 August (Argus) — South Korean producer S-Oil restarted its 1mn t/yr paraxylene (PX) unit in Onsan on 1 August and is running at low rates of 20pc, according to a source close to operations. This came after the PX unit was shut on 28 July, because a fire had broken out at an isomerisation unit's heater unit. The PX unit managed to restart after obtaining approval from authorities, despite market participants initially expecting a longer closure because of investigations and the need to pass safety assessments. But S-Oil's isomerisation unit remained closed because of severe damage at the heating facility, so the producer will have to bypass the isomerisation process to produce PX. This means that PX yields would be heavily compromised, with the unit now forced to operate at just 20pc, which translates to 200,000 t/yr of production. The unit previously operated at 80pc before the fire broke out. The firm expects its PX unit to remain at current low run rates, until the isomerisation unit's heating facility is replaced. The replacement is expected to take several months as the technical parts need to be imported. S-Oil have reached out to term contract offtakers in the domestic and export markets toreduce their monthly allocated PX volumes. The company received amicable agreements from all affected parties, said a source close to the firm. Some domestic PX buyers are considering reducing their PTA operating rates to manage the supply losses, said a South Korean PTA producer. South Korean domestic PTA producers are unlikely to urgently seek spot cargoes to fill shortages, as the economics to produce PTA are currently below breakeven point. Average PTA-PX margins stood at $88/t and $87/t respectively for June and July. The industry-acknowledged breakeven point is at $90-100/t, said a South Korean PTA producer. By Alicia Goh Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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