Qingdao (China): Shell has recently concluded a deal with Chandra Asri, an Indonesian petroleum and petrochemical major, to acquire the Bukom assets of Jurong Island consisting of a refinery and a petrochemical complex that produces over two million tons of ethylene and propylene and their downstream derivatives. In this context, Propylene Oxide (PO) suppliers are pleased as management and control of PO movement will now be governed by Asians.
PO supply in Asia is largely dominated by imports, especially from the Middle East, Europe, and North America. The PO production in SE Asia and NE Asia, excluding China, remained lower than other regions as chemical margins have remained decisively much lower than Middle Eastern and European crackers. Intellectual property costs and high crude supply to Asian markets kept the overall margins down as competition with others forced domestic SE and NE Asian suppliers to keep their...
