European petrochemical leaders should take inspiration from Japan, which is further ahead in reducing base chemicals while expanding in specialties and low carbon technologies.

- Japan hit by high naphtha feedstock costs, growing global overcapacity

- 70% of crackers are more than 50 years old

- More than 10% of Japan’s crackers could close

- Downstream production also closing such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and paraxylene (PX)

- Japan basic chemicals losing ground, new focus on specialties

- Pushing materials for semiconductors, electronics

- Also expanding into bio-naphtha and pyrolysis oil

- Japan’s chemical companies want to licence recycling technologies

- Using ammonia and hydrogen to reduce dependence on LNG

- South Korea chemicals face existential crisis

Typhoon Gaemi will test the resilience of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply chain, causing temporary shipment delays and port closures.

CHENGDU (ICIS) -- Asia’s epichlorohydrin (ECH) market has been relatively flat in recent months, a situation that has been prolonged by the persistent supply overhang in Asia and the lack of demand outlets.

• Weak performance in derivative epoxy resins market to endure
• Reduced run rates likely to remain a key response from ECH makers
• Upcoming capacities to add pressure on a structurally long supply picture

In this podcast, markets reporter Michelle Liew discusses trends in the Asia ECH market, as well as the near-term outlook.

SINGAPORE (ICIS) -- China's installed capacity of gas power generation is projected to surpass 150 GW by 2025, representing roughly 6% of the country's total installed power generation capacity.

This presents substantial investment prospects within China and aligns with the nation's ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

Hydrogen, often regarded as a potential fuel for blending with natural gas, offers a promising avenue for reducing emissions from power generation.

In this podcast, ICIS senior LNG analyst Xu Fei will delve into the mechanics of hydrogen-fueled gas turbines and their potential to significantly cut carbon emissions.

Senior Editor for PET, Caroline Murray, and Senior Editor for Recycling, Matt Tudball talk about the current state of the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and recycled PET (R-PET) markets and the uncertainties both face for the rest of the year. These include:

• PET feedstock situation
• High freight costs impacting availability
• Capacity growth in Asia
• Upcoming recycled content targets for R-PET
• Limited availability of food-grade R-PET pellets

SHANGHAI (ICIS)—In this podcast, markets reporter Shannen Ng discusses how northeast Asia’s methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) supply is expected to remain tight as Q3 progresses, however, poor demand expectations in the Asian import markets for the rest of this quarter remain.

• Polymeric MDI sentiment in SE Asia, India supported by tight supply
• Monomeric MDI particularly sluggish and expected to remain so
• Weak demand outlook for China’s downstream construction and automotive sectors

SINGAPORE (ICIS) -- In this podcast, Asia ethylene editor Josh Quah and analyst Aliena Huang discuss the factors impacting arbitrage flows of ethylene from the US to Asia.

• Spot arbitrage window between US and Asia closed but term arrivals for July remain healthy
• Storm Beryl, low affordability in Asia, may keep spot arbitrage trades closed into Aug
• Panama Canal traffic levels expected to return to pre-congestion levels by Oct

SINGAPORE (ICIS) -- In this podcast, ICIS analysts Patricia Tao, Lewis Unstead and Aliena Huang delve into how the upcoming CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) will impact China’s export-oriented manufacturing sectors and hydrogen’s crucial role in its low-carbon economy.

• China's national energy law draft includes hydrogen, a shift towards low-carbon
• Move comes ahead of EU's CBAM
• CBAM to affect global trade, particularly for high-emission products