Economics

Lotte Chemical Titan signs contract to buy naphtha from Aramco Trading Singapore

Malaysia's Lotte Chemical Titan has signed a three-year contract to buy naphtha from Aramco Trading Singapore starting in July 2025 and running to June 2028, the company said.

India's May diesel exports to Southeast Asia seen at multi-year highs on higher margins

India's diesel exports to Southeast Asia for May are expected to be the highest in at least four years, as traders eyed higher profits in Asia and as higher freight costs deterred shipments to Europe.

U.S. ethane exports to China hit new roadblock with license requirement

Chinese purchases of U.S. ethane, a key petrochemical feedstock, face fresh uncertainty after the U.S. Commerce Department told exporters to seek licenses to export to China

BASF intends to take over shares in Alsachimie JV from DOMO Chemicals

BASF and DOMO Chemicals have signed an agreement giving BASF the right to take over DOMO Chemicals’ 49% share of the Alsachimie joint venture, in which BASF currently holds 51%.

Digital Feature: FuelEU: A growth opportunity for U.S. Midwest ethanol producers

ExxonMobil to sell French subsidiary Esso to Canadian energy group

ExxonMobil France Holding has entered into exclusive negotiations with North Atlantic France SAS for both the proposed sale of its 82.89% majority shareholder interest in Esso Société Anonyme Française SA as well as the proposed sale of ExxonMobil Chemical France SAS. 

UPM cancels second Rotterdam biomass-to-fuels refinery

UPM plans to discontinue the development of its potential second biomass-to-fuels refinery at the Port of Rotterdam. UPM plans to halt all engineering work related to the CAPEX investment and withdraw from all site-related commitments associated with the Rotterdam investment

Uniper, thyssenkrupp Uhde partner to build large-scale ammonia cracker in Germany

thyssenkrupp Uhde and Uniper are entering into a strategic partnership to bring a key technology for global hydrogen trading to industrial maturity: the large-scale ammonia cracker. In a first step, a demonstration plant with a capacity of 28 tpd ammonia will be built at Uniper’s Gelsenkirchen-Scholven site in Germany.

Canada shift crude oil exports to China, an unintended consequence of U.S. energy tariffs

If there is a law of unintended consequences, then a good example is how commodity markets are adjusting to both the realities and the perceived threats of the tariff war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump. An example of this is seaborne exports of crude oil from Canada, which have shifted away from the United States and towards China, even though Trump backed away from his initial plan to impose a 10% tariff on energy imports from Canada.

Saudi Arabia's refining boom helps it weather oil price war

Saudi Arabia has been cranking up oil refining operations to capture strong profit margins, helping the kingdom offset revenue lost from declining crude prices and exports.