Key View:Our Americas Petrochemicals Risk/Reward Index saw a 0.3 points reduction in its average regional score due to declines throughout South America,amid sluggish markets,poor prospects for capacity growth and declining competitiveness.Meanwhile,the markets of North America continued to see improvement as gas-fed petrochemicals chains improved competitiveness,which related to feedstock access and costs.While the development of hydrogen is mooted as a lower carbon alternative,the impact on risk and reward factors will not be felt in South America for many years.The prospect of new plants coming onstream in Latin America over the next five years is dim;there is a high likelihood of plant closures as the pandemic has highlighted structural problems within the sector that cast doubt on the long-term viability of some operations.As such,the outlook for rewards is to the downside,even as risks improve.
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