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Article: Flow of cheap naphtha to Asia in peril.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
- Article from:
- Petroleum Intelligence Weekly
- Article date:
- March 11, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Energy Intelligence Group. 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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The axiom that Asia's energy industry depends heavily on crude and product imports is well established. Less well known is the extent to which petrochemical plants in Japan and South Korea depend on imports of naphtha from the Middle East and beyond. With little ability to switch away from naphtha as feedstock, Asia's giant petrochemical industry is facing the prospect of radical change -- and a potentially steep rise in costs -- as regional demand is set to soar ahead of likely supply. Asia is, by far, the world's biggest naphtha market, consuming around 2 million barrels per day and accounting for some 43% of global demand for the petrochemical feedstock, according to a ...