Our annual European conference, organised with ICIS, always provides an excellent opportunity to gain a snapshot of industry views as we move into a new year. At this week’s event in Antwerp, Belgium, the prevailing mood was uncertainty, for the first time since 2002:
• Oil prices are high, and volatile. This makes it difficult to plan ahead with any confidence.
• Feedstock markets are in a perfect storm. Shell described the major pressures on refiners, which have kept naphtha markets tight, and prices high.
• End-user demand may be weakening. Artenius and Scott Bader see increasing difficulties in passing through higher feedstock prices to end-users.
• Credit worries are increasing. Our financial speakers from ING and Barclays Capital both warned that the sub-prime crisis is far from over.
Petchems have had a great run since 2003. It is not at all clear that this will continue into 2008. Our delegates are probably very wise to be developing contingency plans, in case the next few months turn out to be the start of the long-awaited downturn.