Special Reports

Navigating a pathway to a low-carbon global economy requires a new plan. The S&P Global Platts Atlas of Energy Transition, produced in collaboration with S&P Global Market Intelligence, is your map to the sustainable commodity markets of the future.

The global olefins/polymers market will continue to face challenges in H1 2021. Fresh supplies will be available in Asia in line with planned capacity expansions, while bullish naphtha feedstock prices put pressure on petrochemical margins. Petrochemical demand started recovering in H2 2020, but the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic lingers. S&P Global Platts examines the outlook for the global olefins/polymers markets for the first half of this year.

Europe is cementing itself as a global LNG balancer, price anchor and demand hub in its own right. Amid this, while market access has taken center stage, there still is no mechanism to manage or trade terminal access and capacity on a multi-terminal basis, making access rights a valuable commodity in its own right. Without evolutionary change in this part of the LNG value chain, capacity risk could create a bottleneck to efficient market trade.

The global petrochemical industry finished 2020 on a strong note, despite having been pressured lower by the COVID-19 pandemic and a weaker energy complex. The end of the year saw prices beginning to recover and bullish sentiment in the market. Concerns around capacity growth and associated product length still persist, however. S&P Global Platts examines market expectations for the global aromatics sector during the first half of 2021.