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Article: Naphtha flows shift as supply gets tighter. (Feedstocks).(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Chemical Week
- Article date:
- February 20, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Access Intelligence, LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A SLOWDOWN IN refinery capacity additions and recovery m petrochemical markets will cause demand for naphtha to outstrip supply in the latter half of the decade, according to a study by Poten & Partners (Singapore). Through 2005, however, higher naphtha output from new refinery capacity, as well as changes in gasoline specifications in the U.S., are expected to keep the market oversupplied.
That will change sometime after 2005. "Between the middle and end of the decade, customers will start to compete vigorously with one another for supply," says Poten. Naphtha prices are likely to strengthen relative to crude oil as a result. "Leverage in the market will shift ...