Where is the Most Value for Ethylene and Olefin By-Products?

摘要

With excess production capacity effecting the industry, olefin petrochemical markets have entered the weaker portion of the traditional "petrochemical cycle". Petrochemical producers are seeking new ways to maximize the value of their products while minimizing their costs of production. Steam cracker operators are focussing on optimizing each element of their cost structures: feedstock costs, variable costs, fixed costs, and co-product credits. Although feedstock costs are the single largest element of total production costs, co-product credits play a nearly-as-significant role in the profitability of a steam cracker facility, especially for a steam cracker that processes heavier feedstocks such as naphtha, condensates, or gas oil. The dynamics of the propylene and C4 olefins markets are constantly changing, and the profitable steam cracker operators of the future will be the ones that can successfully maximize the value of their co-products amid these changing markets.