Special Reports

The phenomenal growth in global LNG trade flows has been underpinned by a vast fleet of LNG carriers that numbers just shy of 500 vessels. The fleet has done for LNG, what container ships have done for manufactured products like the iPhone. It has made it possible for gas producers to propagate LNG as a global fuel and a global commodity. The global LNG fleet will grow at its fastest rate ever in 2018, with newer and better technologies. But will this be enough to absorb the vast amount of new LNG supply coming next year, mainly from the US, and still keep freight rates at affordable levels?

The US chemical industry is in the crosshairs of escalating trade tensions between the US and China that have spawned tariffs on hundreds of products from both countries. From steel and parts needed to build multibillion-dollar plants to numerous raw-material chemicals and plastics produced, tariffs have affected hundreds of billions of dollars in commerce between the world's two largest economies, and markets are responding accordingly.

The growth in US crude production over the last several years has revolutionized the global markets, with daily crude exports set to hit nearly 4 million barrels/day in 2020 from virtually nothing just three years ago. In this special report, S&P Global Platts looks at both the local and global impacts of the US' crude exports, tracing their path from the Permian Basin and Bakken Formation, through the country's vast pipeline network and out to the regional demand centers that have come to rely heavily on American oil.

Blockchain could help make commodity trading simpler, faster and cheaper. Pilot projects and trials are popping up around the world, but real world uses are rare so far. Companies will have to tackle issues such as speed, scale, cost, privacy and liability to make using blockchain viable. This special report from S&P Global Platts explains the technology, examines the projects, and looks at the challenges and opportunities ahead as blockchain enters a critical development phase.

The container market has seen a series of public -- and often heated -- arguments this year over the sharp rise in bunker prices and who should foot the bill. S&P Global Platts container market editor Andrew Scorer and Jack Jordan and Paul Hickin from the oil news team analyze the changing landscape of supply chain logistics, and how the International Maritime Organization's lower marine fuels sulfur cap in 2020 is set to complicate the situation even further.