Friday, May 17, 2019
Energy, Petrochemicals and Plastics 17
1 How should the plastics industry deal with the U.S.-China trade war?
https://www.plasticstoday.com/injection-molding/how-should-plastics-industry-deal-us-china-trade-war/36908952260819
Another deadline has come and gone, and the United States and China are still nowhere near a trade deal. In fact, with strong rhetoric coming from both sides, I’m now sensing we’re closer to economic Armageddon than a storybook ending. I’m preparing my consulting clients for the worst-case scenario.
2 Oil Is Trade War’s Collateral Damage
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/oil_is_trade_wars_collateral_damage-14-may-2019-158826-article/
U.S. oil shipments are likely to be a casualty of the trade war with China, even though crude was spared from the latest list of American goods targeted with retaliatory tariffs.
3 LNG Players Weigh Ship Storage Gambit
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/lng_players_weigh_ship_storage_gambit-17-may-2019-158859-article/
With so much cheap liquefied natural gas around, traders are again looking at tankers to store the fuel in the hope of better prices.
4 Peak Gasoline Vehicles Is Already Here
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Peak-Gasoline-Vehicles-Is-Already-Here.html
The internal combustion engine has already reached a peak in sales. That startling conclusion comes from a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). “Sales of internal combustion passenger vehicles have already peaked, and may never recover unless EV growth falters, or major economies such as China invest in significant stimulus programs,” Bloomberg NEF wrote.
5 American Oil Finds New Markets
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/american_oil_finds_new_markets-16-may-2019-158849-article/
U.S. crude is reaching new destinations around the world after Chinese buying slowed amid concern that the growing trade dispute between the countries could result in a tax on American oil.
6 Is North America Facing a Pipeline Bubble?
https://www.rigzone.com/news/is_north_america_facing_a_pipeline_bubble-14-may-2019-158829-article/
Spending on proposed North American pipelines could reach $232.5B and raise global pipeline capacity by a third.
7 Coming marine fuel standard will disrupt markets for 1-5 years: BCG study
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-shipping-fuel-study-idUSKCN1SM0AG
The marine industry’s January 2020 shift to using very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) to power ships worldwide will launch a one- to five-year disruption in oil and refined products markets, according to a study released Thursday by Boston Consulting Group.
8 Mexico’s rising oil nationalism faces debt-rating crisis
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-pemex-insight-idUSKCN1SK1TE
The leftist oil nationalist’s ambitions include building a new $8 billion refinery, refurbishing existing refineries and reversing a steady decline in crude production. The problem is that such expensive plans – for the world’s most indebted oil company – have alarmed credit rating agencies, which are threatening to downgrade Pemex bonds to “junk” status.
9 ExxonMobil doubles plant’s manufacturing capacity of speciality elastomers
https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/14052019/exxonmobil-doubles-plants-manufacturing-capacity-of-speciality-elastomers/
ExxonMobil has completed an expansion of its speciality elastomers manufacturing plant in Newport, Wales, which doubles the plant’s manufacturing capacity and increases global manufacturing capacity of Santoprene™ thermoplastic elastomers by 25%.
10 EIA revises its crude oil price forecast upward as supply expectations change – Today in Energy
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=39452
In its May 2019 edition of the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA revised its price forecast for Brent crude oil upward, reflecting price increases in recent months, more recent data, and changing expectations of global oil markets. Several supply constraints have caused oil markets to be generally tighter and oil prices to be higher so far in 2019 than previous STEOs expected.
