Capacity Surplus Looms for Ethylene Glycol Market

摘要

Analysts expect overcapacity in the global the ethylene glycol (EG) market in the next few years as world-scale petrochemical plants in the Mideast begin to come onstream, flooding the market and shifting the market's international trade flow. Ethylene oxide (EO) is the second largest consumer of ethylene worldwide, behind polyethylene, accounting for about 14%-15% of ethylene consumption. Global MEG demand reached 17.8 million m.t. last year and is projected to grow to about 23.6 million m.t. by 2014. North American EG plants will continue to survive due to the region's low-cost ethane advantage and will be a net exporter as a whole. The US, however, will remain a net importer, as more sites are shut down and production shifts to Canada, where feedstock costs are lower.