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The article reports on the insight of Matt Aguiar, senior vice president (vp) at ExxonMobil Chemical Co. on the abundant unconventional energy resource of North America which continue to provide sustainable energy and cost advantages in petrochemicals despite the volatility in energy markets and lower oil prices. Aguiar says at the IHS 2015 World Petrochemical Conference in Galveston, Texas that natural gas liquids (NGLs) are expected to surpass naphtha by 2025.

The article deals with the prices of chemicals as of December 2009. In North America, the prices of feedstock decreased due to lower crude prices. The spot prices of naphtha in Europe lost 25 dollars/metric tons (m.t.) due to decreasing prices of crude. Also noted is the volatility and variability of spot aromatics prices in North American than in Europe.

The article presents price reports for various chemicals as of October 5, 2008. Acording to the article, North American feedstocks fell slightly due to falling crude oil prices while U.S. spot olefins remained mostly flat in the week before the date. Spot naphtha in Europe declined 35 U.S. dollars per metric ton while butadiene continued its increase. Benzene in the U.S. Gulf coast dropped a dime while mixed xylenes rose by 5 U.S. cents per gallon.

The article presents an update on the prices of chemicals, as of May 2009. The North American naphtha price increased by 2 cents per gallon on modest gains in crude oil prices. The prices of toluene and mixed xylenes in Europe also increased. Spot polymer prices were somewhat normalized across the Atlantic over the first half of the month.

The article offers updates on chemical prices worldwide. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has decided to increase its premium over Brent crude as oil prices rose. In Europe, spot prices of naphtha increased by $35 per metric ton. Spot prices for ethylene declined almost 5 cents per pound in North America. Methanol, meanwhile, continued to weaken recording an average loss of 3.5 cents per gallon.

This article reports on the price performance of chemicals in the market for the week ended March 2, 2009. Spot naphtha in Europe declined $10/metric ton (m.t.), affected by increase in cruide prices. However, steam cracker operators got the chance to restore margin with spot ethylene prices up €60/m.t. Propylene rose by €42/m.t. However, butadiene fell €30/m.t. North American spot ethylene rose about 5 cents/lb, to 33 cents/lb for March delivery 2009, while naphtha gained 4 cents/lb.

The author discusses the impact of political unrest in oil regions on global crude prices. According to the author, Brent crude kept pace rising and cold weather battered most of North America, driving natural gas prices 83 cts higher. The author says European naphtha rose $25/m.t., in line with rising oil prices and putting a hard pinch on spot olefins.