Low crude prices benefit naphtha crackers;ethane cracker economics uncertain

摘要

Prior to the start of the year,global olefins producers were bracing for market downturn as a result of new cracking capacity coming online in Asia.Instead,falling crude prices,which were the result of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Saudi price war,have instead favored naphtha cracking economics.ICIS Analytics projects costs for naphtha-based ethylene production from European crackers is below costs for ethane cracking,compared to being around five times higher in 2019 as US ethane crackers will no longer enjoy a feedstock advantage.