Chemicals

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday night as a Category 4 storm in the northwestern part of the US state of Florida. The storm made landfall in the Big Bend region just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River, according to the National Hurricane Center at 23:20 Eastern time (3:20 GMT Friday). Maximum sustained winds were around 140 miles/hour. Helene was moving north-northeast, with a hurricane warning in effect for Anclote River to Mexico Beach. Big Bend is a sparsely populated region of Florida. However, a storm surge warning includes Tampa Bay, an important hub for the US fertilizer industry. Nearly 1 million customers in Florida were without power, according to tracker PowerOutage.us. PORT CLOSURESInbound and outbound traffic to Port Tampa Bay ceased ahead of the storm, and the port's shipping channels were closed. Port Tampa Bay is an energy products gateway for oil and gas, jet fuel and petroleum products, as well as fertilizers. It is also a gateway for construction and building materials. Other port closures include Panama City, St Joe, St Petersburg, Manatee and Key West on Florida's west coast, as well as Fernandina, Jacksonville and Canaveral on Florida's east coast. RAIL DISRUPTIONS Railroad company CSX planned to close its TRANSFLO terminals in Tampa and Tampa Port on Thursday. Railroad company Norfolk Southern said that customers with shipments moving through the southeast and mid-Atlantic should prepare for delays. RECONSTRUCTION AND CHEM DEMANDHurricane Helene's current path could put $5.64 billion worth of housing at risk to storm surge flooding, insurance data company CoreLogic said on Wednesday. Reconstruction following hurricanes can increase demand for many chemicals and polymers. Additional reporting by Al Greenwood

27-Sep-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–A quarter of US oil production in the Gulf of Mexico remains shut in as Helene becomes close to becoming a major hurricane. The following table shows the disruptions to US Gulf production that were caused by Helene, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). Total % of US Gulf Oil, bbl/day 441,923 25.25% Gas, million cubic feet/day 363.39 19.81% Source: BSEE Total % of US Gulf Platforms evacuated 27 7.28% Rigs evacuated 1 20% Source: BSEE Hurricane Helene has maximum sustained wind speeds of nearly 110 miles/hour (175 km/hour), which is 1 mile/hour below becoming a major hurricane. It is on track to make landfall in the Big Bend, a sparsely populated region of northwestern Florida. The following map shows the forecasted path of Helene. Source: National Hurricane Center FLORIDA CHEMS AT RISKHelene could threaten Panama City, Florida, where Kraton operates a crude sulphate turpentine refinery and a crude tall oil (CTO) refinery. Tall oil is a feedstock for the production of fatty acids, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Helene's path is too far east to threaten Pensacola, which is home to some nylon and thermoset resin plants. Helene is moving on the opposite side of Texas and Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. Those two states are home to most of the refineries, petrochemical plants and LNG capacity of the US. Operations at those plants will not be threatened by Helene. Helene will not make landfall near Tampa Bay, an important hub for the US fertilizer industry. Tampa hosts corporate offices, trading, product storage, shipping and other logistical operations. Nonetheless, Helene will disrupt operations at the port of Tampa Bay. PORTS CLOSED TO TRAFFIC ALONG EASTERN GULF COASTInbound and outbound traffic has ceased among numerous ports along Florida's Gulf Coast, including Port Tampa Bay, an important entrepot. Tampa is in the region that could see a peak storm surge of 5-8 feet (1.5-2.4 meters), as shown in the following map. Source: National Hurricane Center The following table shows some of the other ports in Florida that are closed. Panama City, Florida Port St Joe, Florida St Petersburg, Florida Manatee, Florida Source: US Coast Guard The following ports are open with restrictions. Pensacola, Florida Mobile, Alabama Source: US Coast Guard RAIL DISRUPTIONS Railroad company CSX plans to close its TRANSFLO terminals in Tampa and Tampa Port on Thursday. Railroad company Norfolk Southern said that customers with shipments moving through the southeast and mid-Atlantic should prepare for delays. RECONSTRUCTION AND CHEM DEMANDHurricane Helene's current path could put $5.64 billion worth of housing at risk to storm surge flooding, an insurance data company said on Wednesday. Nearly 25,000 residential properties in the Tallahassee and Homosassa Springs metropolitan areas are at risk, said CoreLogic. “Helene has the potential to become a once-in-a-generation storm,” said Jon Porter, chief meteorologist for the meteorology firm AccuWeather. It estimates that most of Florida and much of the southeastern US will be exposed to winds reaching 40-60 miles/hour. AccuWeather expects that most of Florida and all of the states of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina are at risk for tornados. For hurricanes in general, reconstruction can translate to increased demand for many chemicals and polymers. The white pigment titanium dioxide (TiO2) is used in paints. Solvents used in paints and coatings include butyl acetate (butac), butyl acrylate (butyl-A), ethyl acetate (etac), glycol ethers, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and isopropanol (IPA). Blends of aliphatic and aromatic solvents are also used to make paints and coatings. For polymers, expandable polystyrene (EPS) and polyurethane (PU) foam are used in insulation. Polyurethanes are made of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and polyols. High density polyethylene (HDPE) is used in pipe. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is used to make cladding, window frames, wires and cables, flooring and roofing membranes. Unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) are used to make coatings and composites. Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) is used to make paints and adhesives. Thumbnail photo: Helene. (By the National Hurricane Center) (adds missing world "Gulf" in headline)

26-Sep-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Canadian fertilizer developer Karnalyte Resources announced it will begin a review of its development strategy to evaluate the economic potential of increasing magnesium chloride production at their Wynyard project in Saskatchewan. This effort will be undertaken by developing the magnesium assets at the same time as the development of the potash project. The company said the carnallite, also known as hydrated potassium magnesium chloride, is abundant within their mineral deposit so they need to determine the economic balance of developing carnallite for the co-production of magnesium chloride and potassium chloride. The aim is to significantly increase magnesium chloride production through the application of advanced solution mining technologies. The Government of Canada lists magnesium as one of the nation’s 34 critical minerals and it also appears on the lists in other countries including the US, the EU and Australia. Magnesium is a key mineral in the clean technologies and advanced manufacturing value chain while magnesium chloride serves as a key raw material in the production of various chemicals used in high-tech applications such as semiconductor manufacturing and in industries including agriculture and pharmaceuticals. “In light of the increasing importance of magnesium as one of the building blocks for the green and digital economy, we are reevaluating our strategy and we believe we should review the inclusion of concurrent and optimized magnesium and potash deposit development in our plans for the benefit of all stakeholders,” said Danielle Favreau, Karnalyte Resources CEO. The company said it plans to make progress on its technical report through the remainder of the year, which is a key precursor to any mine construction. It expects to complete the study on the review of its development strategy by the first quarter of 2025. Wynyard is one of two projects Karnalyte Resources is advancing with planned phase 1 production calculated at 625,000 tonnes/year of high-grade granular potash with two subsequent phases of 750,000 tonnes/year from each phase. The company noted that all environmental permits remain valid with preliminary detailed engineering complete and that the existing offtake agreement with Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited remains in effect.

25-Sep-2024

NEW YORK (ICIS)–The lack of a meaningful recovery in volumes amid a weak macroeconomic backdrop along with geopolitical uncertainty are key factors hindering mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, panelists said at a recent meeting of the Societe de Chimie Industrielle in New York. “Right now, it’s all about volume in our businesses. That’s the number one issue, because we have operating leverage in our businesses where small increases in volume will lead to meaningful increases in profitability,” said Scott Wolff, managing director at private equity firm American Securities. “Fortunately, our portfolio companies – mostly specialties businesses – have maintained real pricing power during this inflationary period. So, our margins across portfolio companies are really strong,” he added. Wolff is also chairman of US-based specialty chemical companies Hexion, Meridian Adhesives and Vibrantz (combination of former Ferro, Chromaflo and Prince businesses). On the macroeconomic front, “China is struggling and is not going to hit 5% growth while Europe is clearly struggling with Germany potentially in recession. The US has been remarkably resilient,” said Peter Young, CEO of investment bank Young & Partners. Panelists at the Societe de Chimie Industrielle meeting from American Securities, DC Advisory, Young & Partners and ICIS. COMMODITY VS SPECIALTY“Demand is soft but there’s a bit of a split personality. If you talk about specialty chemicals, weaker demand is not helping but at least they’re not facing overcapacity,” said Young. “Commodity chemicals is a very different story. There is a massive increase in capacity in China of commodity chemicals and plastics, coupled with the Middle East trying to add capacity because they want to diversify away from [fuel], he added, pointing out that an “irrational amount of capacity” is coming online. He doesn’t see global capacity utilization improving for commodity chemicals until 2028. “For specialty chemicals businesses, the lower cost in commodities works to our advantage because our companies are buying those raw materials at favorable prices,” said Wolff from American Securities. DEALS PUT ON HOLDThis widespread weakness in volumes has curbed M&A activity as many potential sale processes were delayed or put on hold. “Profits in 2023 dipped for a number of companies, so a number of processes that were started in 2023 got pushed back or put on hold because people were concerned about lower 2023 results and did not have enough visibility on 2024 numbers,” said Federico Mennella, managing director and US head of chemicals at investment bank DC Advisory, a unit of Japan’s Daiwa Securities. Today, in contrast, players are now focused on improved 2024 results and have more confidence in 2025 figures, he noted. “At the beginning of the year, we expected volumes in 2024 to be significantly higher than in 2023. In fact, the M&A market was weaker than expected in H1 2024, although we still expect an increase in transactions in the months ahead and in 2025,” said Mennella. The banker attributes the slowdown to difficult credit conditions, geopolitical factors – including elections in a number of countries, the war in Ukraine and Middle East uncertainty – high energy costs and logistics considerations. Data from Young & Partners show chemical M&A activity market is down significantly, with only 20 deals above $25 million in size closing in H1 2024 versus 75 for all of 2023 and 86 for all of 2022. And among the 20 deals closed in H1 2024, 55% were in Asia – mainly in China with Chinese buyers. “That makes the accessible market even smaller for Western players because private equity firms are not lining up to do LBOs (leveraged buyouts) in China,” said Young. “Chemical deal volume has gone down, mainly because of uncertainty. And Europe volume has just plunged because Europe is in trouble. Their energy sources have changed and are much higher cost, and in general it is a high-cost place to make chemicals,” he added. On a geographic basis, Europe is certainly being eyed more cautiously and critically in terms of investment by private equity firms, Mennella from DC Advisory pointed out. There are less cross-border deals coming from China while the US remains a key area of interest. M&A activity in the US could pick up with interest rates easing, he added. “We are also seeing increased M&A activity in and from Japan, as well as from Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern companies and entities,” said Mennella. Meanwhile, chemical companies themselves are more active in restructuring, repositioning and refocusing their businesses, which in turn drives M&A activity among strategic players as well as private equity groups, he added. PROCESSES TAKING LONGERPrivate equity firms bought “a lot of companies in the 2015-2019 period which they need to sell soon. Other private equity groups are raising funds and want to show good returns on prior investments,” said Mennella. “But processes often take longer because of gaps between sellers and buyers. We expect a catch-up once we have confidence in 2024 earnings and projections for 2025.” he added. “You see that every time we go through a peak and valuations start to come down – volumes start to drop because buyers and sellers can’t agree on price,” said Young from Young & Partners. In 2023, for American Securities, in approximately 75% of the deals evaluated by the investment team, there was no transaction. This compares to around 30% in a typical year, Wolff pointed out. “Broadly speaking, there has been a buyer-seller disconnect, and there are various factors [contributing to this] including interest rates and destocking in 2023. So while we were able to close a number of transactions, there is no question that the pace of dealmaking has been slower for us and the industry at large,” said Wolff. GOOD TIME FOR BOLT-ONSCertain private equity firms are continuing to make bolt-on acquisitions to existing platform companies rather than taking on major new deals on the buy side. “From an M&A perspective, the market is active right now. That’s not necessarily the case for platform investments. But for add-on deals, there continues to be an abundance of opportunities. We are really active on that front,” said Wolff. In August 2024, American Securities’ portfolio company Vibrantz acquired US-based Micro Abrasives, a producer of specialty alumina for automotive refinishing, optics polishing and industrial lapping markets. In June 2024, portfolio company Meridian Adhesives acquired specialty adhesives producer Bondloc UK, which makes anaerobic adhesives, cyanoacrylates, epoxies, UV cure adhesives, and structural acrylics. On the sell side for American Securities, Hexion in April 2024 announced the sale of its PVA and EPI Emulsions business to Franklin International, a US-based producers of adhesives, sealants and polymers that supplied that Hexion business for over 40 years. Also in April, Vibrantz sold its Onda, Spain ceramic floor and wall tile manufacturing operations to Xphere Global Specialities, an affiliate of Vidres India Ceramics. TARGETED PROCESSES AND FLEXIBLE DEAL STRUCTURESIn a challenging deal environment, players are engaging in more targeted buy or sell processes rather than putting an asset out for auction. Deal structures are also becoming more flexible to bridge any gaps. “A number of transactions include targeted processes that do not involve a broad auction. In other cases, a strategic or private equity group with sector knowledge targets a specific asset and approaches the owner directly,” said Mennella from DC Advisory. One case in point was Germany-based Henkel proactively approaching Arsenal Capital Partners for the acquisition of US-based protective coatings and sealants producer Seal For Life industries ($250 million in 2023 sales) and closing the deal in April 2024, he noted. “In another situation, instead of a broad auction, we targeted five logical buyers before going through any process. Two of the five submitted bids, and one was accepted. It never went to the broader market,” said Mennella. Earnings growth and macro assumptions are much fuzzier today, often requiring flexible or hybrid M&A models to get deals done. “A lot of the acquisitions made in the past were based on a variety of optimistic assumptions – the EBITDA was going to increase, the exit multiple was going to remain or even increase, interest rates would continue to stay low, and everything was going to be on a consistent and predictable trajectory,” said Mennella. “Given the recent post-pandemic market dynamics, many buyers are more flexible and innovative in structuring and executing their deals,” he added. In certain private equity sell-side deals, the seller is retaining a portion of its stake rather than exiting 100%. In August 2024, H.I.G. Capital announced a deal to sell water treatment solutions company USALCO to private equity firm TJC (formerly The Jordan Company) while retaining a minority stake. “The willingness of private equity and strategics to utilize flexibility and inventiveness helps bridge gaps and gets transactions done,” said Mennella. Or private equity firms could simply stand pat and hold onto their portfolio companies for longer, especially for those firms with longer fund lives. “We’re excited about the investment thesis of our companies and their long-term potential. Fortunately, we can be patient,” said Wolff from American Securities. “We’d rather realize the earnings growth we see in these companies before exit, and if that means holding for longer, that’s fine,” he added. CHALLENGE FOR MANAGEMENTSAmid all the uncertainty and weak demand backdrop, what should other chemical company managements do? “It really depends on who you are and where you are because the nature of the problem and the opportunity and the solution are going to be dramatically different,” said Young of Young & Partners. “First, take a real look at the asset and try to characterize it. And then the solution will be driven by the nature of that asset – in terms of its competitiveness, who and where its customers are, etc.,” he added. Obviously, a commodity chemical producer in the US will have very different options than those in Europe and Asia because of cost competitiveness. “Most CEOs are quite nervous these days because the landscape has changed dramatically and become much more uncertain. In the US presidential election, there is going to be a huge difference in policy depending on who becomes president – on tariffs and so forth,” said Young. “It used to be CEOs could do a base case, have two or three scenarios, and plan around them. Now they don’t know what their base case is, much less what the scenarios are to consider,” he added. The path to zero carbon emissions and greater circularity are additional challenges for managements, as technologies are all over the place and return on investment is far from certain, the banker pointed out. “Most of these CEOs are saying – I’ve got to do it. I may not get a return on capital, but I don’t really have much choice because if I don’t do anything, five years down the road… I’m going to be in trouble,” said Young. LYONDELLBASELL EXAMPLESome companies are taking decisive action. US-based LyondellBasell, for example, is using strong cash flows from its core cost-advantaged commodity businesses to invest in plastics recycling and bio-based chemicals – its Circular and Low Carbon Solutions business – both organically and through M&A. LyondellBasell in August 2024 agreed to acquire full ownership of Germany-based APK which uses solvent-based technology to recycle low density polyethylene (LDPE). Earlier in February, it bought US mechanical recycling operations from PreZero. The company has a goal of producing over 2m tonnes/year of recycled and renewable-based polymers by 2030 and taking 20%+ market share in North America and Europe for these plastics. In the meantime, LyondellBasell is also conducting strategic reviews of six European assets in its Olefins & Polyolefins (O&P) and Intermediates & Derivatives (I&D) segments for potential sale. By the end of the decade, if the company follows through on its strategy, it will look very different from where it is today. Insight article by Joseph Chang Thumbnail photo source: Photo source: Taidgh Barron/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

25-Sep-2024

SAO PAULO (ICIS)–The Mexican government has amended for the third time the decree regulating import and export permit requirements for several chemicals as well as fuel products and re-opened the door for 20-year permits. Among others, there were amendments published for permits to import key building blocks within the petrochemical industry, such as naphtha; products within the aromatics chain such as benzene and toluene; or within olefins such as ethylene, propylene and butadiene (BD). Within fuels, import permits for jet kerosene or biodiesel were amended, as well as those for feedstocks such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). Read the list of products in the decree’s annexes (see here, in Spanish). The government said it was aiming to simplify the procedures by providing greater legal certainty and clarity to interested parties, seeking to facilitate compliance with obligations by considering the type of merchandise, its use, and the quantities requested. These import and export permits apply when the product is related to the energy industry or derives or is produced from hydrocarbons. For lubricants and additives, recent regulatory amendments have made it necessary to obtain a Permit for the import of such products, when classified under certain specific tariff codes. Some of the updates referred to the term of the permits for import and export, an aspect in which the government is backtracking its earlier decision from 2020 to withdraw 20-year permits existent at the time, according to a note to customers by the Mexican office of law firm Holland & Knight. “Permits are granted for different validity periods that vary based on the nature of the merchandise and its intended use. For merchandise intended for sporting events and research trials, both for import and export, the validity is sixty days. Standard permits for one year and five years may also be requested,” said Gabriel Ruiz, partner at the law firm. “Furthermore, permits for export may be granted for periods exceeding five to twenty years, provided the need for such permits is justified in the interest of social and economic benefit, subject to approval by the Ministry of Energy (SENER).” The decree also establishes specific requirements for obtaining prior import and export permits, differentiating the requirements based on the validity of each type of permit. Regarding renewals, permits granted for one year may be renewed up to two times for the same validity, while five-year permits may be renewed once for the same duration. For permits exceeding five years intended for export, the renewal will be singular and may extend up to half of the original validity; in the case of twenty-year permits, the renewal will be limited to the same proportion. The new rules published on 18 September came to amend a decree originally issued in December 2020, later amended in November 2022 and November 2023. These amendments were part of wider changes included in the Energy Reform passed in 2013, which sought to liberalize Mexico’s energy sector. The current Administration’s approach, however, has been keeping the state-owned energy companies – crude major Pemex or utility CFE are two of them – at the center of the country’s energy landscape. Front page picture source: Shutterstock

24-Sep-2024

BARCELONA (ICIS)–With some economists now forecasting a recession in China, chemicals executives should analyze the possible impact on their businesses. China’s economy at a turning point, possibility of recession in 2025 New government stimulus measures announced today Lack of domestic demand makes China reliant on export-driven growth Other markets increasingly resistant to Chinese exports, put up trade barriers Further slowing of China’s economy will increase global overcapacity pressure Chemical companies need to plan for scenario of stagnant China economy In this Think Tank podcast, Will Beacham interviews Paul Hodges, chairman of New Normal Consulting. Editor’s note: This podcast is an opinion piece. The views expressed are those of the presenter and interviewees, and do not necessarily represent those of ICIS. ICIS is organising regular updates to help the industry understand current market trends. Register here Read the latest issue of ICIS Chemical Business Read Paul Hodges and John Richardson's ICIS blogs

24-Sep-2024

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–France’s TotalEnergies said on Tuesday it will supply 200,000 tonnes/year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to South Korea’s HD Hyundai Chemical for seven years starting 2027. Under the agreement, TotalEnergies will supply natural gas to one of HD Hyundai Chemical’s industrial sites until 2033, the French energy firm said in a statement. HD Hyundai Chemical operates petrochemical plants at Daesan in South Chungcheong province in southwestern South Korea. “This agreement allows us to continue securing long-term sales in Asia and reduce our exposure to spot market gas prices," said Gregory Joffroy, senior vice president of LNG at TotalEnergies. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. HD Hyundai Chemical was formed through a strategic joint venture between South Korean producers HD Hyundai Oilbank and Lotte Chemical. TotalEnergies is a global integrated energy company involved in oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, as well as renewables and electricity.

24-Sep-2024

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–China’s petrochemical futures markets surged on Tuesday following announcement of fresh measures to rev up activity in the world’s second-biggest economy. As the close of trade on Tuesday, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was leading the charge in China’s domestic futures market, with a 3.3% increase, with seven others also posting strong gains. Product Prices at close of trade (CNY/tonne) % change from 23 Sept Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE)                                   7,969 1.2% Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)                                   5,388 3.3% Ethylene glycol (EG)                                   4,459 1.9% Polypropylene (PP)                                   7,360 1.4% Styrene monomer (SM)                                   8,559 0.7% Paraxylene *                                   7,012 2.4% Purified terephthalic acid (PTA)*                                   4,930 2.2% Methanol*                                   2,396 1.6% Sources: Dalian Commodity Exchange, *Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange Shares of major Chinese chemical producers traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses also increased, welcoming the central bank’s economic measures. Company  Closing prices on 24 September (CNY/share) % change from 23 Sept Hengli Petrochemical 13.12 5.4% PetroChina 8.36 4.4% Rongsheng* Petrochemical 8.84 4.1% Satellite Chemical* 16.08 7.7% Sinopec 6.76 4.3% Wanhua Chemical 78.96 4.4% Sources: Shanghai and *Shenzhen bourses The Shanghai composite index surged by 4.15% to close at 2,863 on Tuesday. It was the index’s biggest single-day rally since 6 July 2020. People’s Bank of China (PBoC) governor Pan Gongsheng announced in a press conference the new economic measures, which include cuts on banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR), key policy rate and mortgage rates to revive the economy. China's economic weakness has been a major drag on overall sentiment across the equities and commodities markets this year. “The move [basket of stimulus by China’s central bank] is bold by historical standards and came earlier than we had expected,” said Betty Wang, lead economist at UK-based Oxford Economics, in a research note on Tuesday. “The policy measures include cuts to the policy rate and reserve requirement ratio (RRR), adjustment to mortgage lending and policy support to stock market,” Wang said. “The continuous weakness in domestic economy and the outsized rate cut from the [US] Federal Reserve were the likely catalysts behind the PBoC's latest move,” the economist said. This is the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that the central bank offered a combination of rate cuts, RRR cuts, and structural monetary policies as stimulus measures. A 20-basis point (bps) interest rate cut in the 7-day reverse repurchase (repo) rate and a broad-based 50bps RRR cut are also rare, Oxford Economics noted. Focus article by Fanny Zhang ($1 = CNY7.04) Thumbnail image: At a container terminal at Lianyungang Port in east China's Jiangsu Province, 18 September 2024. (Shutterstock)

24-Sep-2024

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Prices of Asia's fatty alcohol midcuts may be nearing a ceiling as demand from Europe is expected to wane after October, given the looming EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) which starts on 30 December. At the same time, linear alkyl benzene (LAB) markets in east Asia and south Asia have remained in the doldrums despite expectations of an improvement in September. The weak performance in the crude oil and upstream markets since July has weighed on sentiment and led to caution among buyers. Limited spot availability to lend near-term support to midcuts C12-14 prices Heavy fatty alcohol plant shutdown schedule in Sep-Nov in Asia LAB market could potentially improve on upstream revival Elevated fatty alcohols midcut market could prompt switching to LAB In this chemical podcast, ICIS senior editor manager Clive Ong and senior editor Helen Yan discuss the recent market conditions in Asia, as well as the outlook ahead.

24-Sep-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Meteorologists expect a hurricane will form later in the week before making landfall in northwestern Florida at the eastern end of the Gulf of Mexico, they said on Monday. The forecasted path is too far east to threaten the petrochemical plants, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and refineries that are along the western end of the Gulf Coast in the US states of Texas and Louisiana. The path of the storm may be too far east to threaten offshore oil and gas production in the Gulf. Florida does have a few chemical plants along its western coast, but it is too early to tell if the hurricane will make landfall near those plants or in the Big Bend, a sparsely populated region that is east of Pensacola and north of Tampa Bay. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) does not forecast that the storm could strengthen into a major hurricane, which has maximum sustained wind speeds of 111 miles/h (179 km/h). But the meteorological firm AccuWeather warned that such intensification is a possibility. If the disturbance strengthens into a tropical storm, it will be named Helene. Thumbnail shows forecasted path of storm. Image by National Hurricane Center.

23-Sep-2024