ChemAnalyst Interview: Vitol’s Tom Baker on Chemical Recycling, Circular Feedstocks and Naphtha

ChemAnalyst Talks with Mr. Tom Baker, Global Head of Naphtha and Head of the Middle East at Vitol

Vitol, a global energy and commodities company, serves national oil companies, multinational corporations, leading industrial companies, and utilities through more than 40 offices worldwide. With nearly six decades of experience, the company combines market expertise, logistics, infrastructure, and financial strength to meet evolving energy needs while investing in solutions for the future. ChemAnalyst spoke with Mr. Tom Baker, Global Head of Naphtha and Head of the Middle East at Vitol, about the company’s growing focus on chemical recycling, circular feedstocks, and the evolving global naphtha market. Drawing on his extensive experience in energy, naphtha trading, and feedstock management, Baker discussed Vitol’s investment in Waste Plastic Upcycling (WPU), the development of its Rotterdam chemical recycling facility, and the role of pyrolysis oil as a premium feedstock alongside conventional naphtha. He highlighted the importance of regulatory support, reliable plastic-waste supply, strategic partnerships, and refinery integration in scaling circular feedstocks. Looking ahead, Vitol plans to expand WPU’s operations, including a second 120,000-metric-tonne Rotterdam plant, strengthening its position in the emerging circular petrochemical value chain.

Complete Interview with Mr. Tom Baker

Q1: Please provide an overview of your professional journey in the global energy and petrochemical markets, and how your experience in naphtha trading and feedstock management has shaped your perspective on the growing role of chemical recycling and circular feedstocks in the industry’s transition towards sustainability.

Mr Tom Baker: As Vitol’s Global Head of Naphtha, I have long had an interest in chemical recycling. I began my career in energy more than 20 years ago, and since then, the need to find circular solutions in the energy sector has become increasingly evident. Plastic waste is both a major environmental problem and a significant missed opportunity. I have therefore been looking for a viable solution to plastic recycling for some time, and WPU’s pyrolysis process is the most effective solution I have seen so far.

Q2: Vitol has long been recognised as a global leader in energy and commodities trading. What strategic considerations led to the establishment of the Waste Plastic Upcycling (WPU) business, and how does it support Vitol’s broader vision of building a circular and lower-carbon petrochemical value chain?

Mr Tom Baker: Vitol first invested in WPU in 2022. At the time, the technology was still very much in the trial phase, and we worked with management by providing financial support and guaranteeing the offtake of its product. This support enabled the company to take the process to the next stage. In 2025, we acquired WPU because we were excited by the potential of its proprietary process.

Vitol has long recognised the need for the world to transition to a more circular economy and has been investing in a range of businesses and technologies aligned with this objective. We see considerable potential for recycled plastics as consumer companies in Europe gear up to meet the requirements of the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and Single-Use Plastics Directive, and as demand for blending recycled feedstocks into road fuels increases.

Q3: The new Rotterdam facility represents a significant investment in chemical recycling infrastructure. What were the key commercial and strategic factors behind this project, and how does it fit into Vitol’s long-term growth strategy for sustainable feedstocks?

Mr Tom Baker: The two key factors behind the development of the Rotterdam facility are, first, the proven scalability of the pyrolysis recycling technology developed by WPU and, second, the proximity of Vitol’s VPR refinery. Despite its relatively small size, VPR is one of Europe’s most efficient refineries and has deployed cutting-edge technology to reduce CO2 and other emissions by 40–50%.

As I have mentioned, Vitol has been investing in circular solutions for some time, both directly and through our investment companies, such as VAROPreem, which has a processing capacity of 1.3 million tonnes of renewable fuels and 450 GWh of biogas and also owns Sunpin, the world’s largest raw tall oil biorefinery. This interest extends to other circular products, such as biogas for transport and co-processed marine fuel. These investments are all part of a broader strategic aim to offer customers a growing range of lower-carbon or circular solutions.

Q4: Vitol selected Sulzer as its technology partner for this project. What technical capabilities, operational advantages, or commercial considerations made Sulzer’s PyroCon™ technology the preferred solution for scaling plastic waste upcycling?

Mr Tom Baker: Sulzer is a leader in this field. Alongside its core technical and engineering capabilities, it has developed its proprietary PyroCon™ technology, which efficiently cools and condenses these vapours into a liquid feedstock. WPU’s proprietary pyrolysis process enables the initial recycling of the plastics, which are converted into vapours for the PyroCon™ system to cool and condense.

Q5: Mixed plastic waste remains one of the most complex feedstocks to process consistently. How confident is Vitol in the commercial scalability of chemical recycling technologies, and what operational challenges still need to be addressed before widespread industry adoption can be achieved?

Mr Tom Baker: We are extremely confident in the commercial scalability of chemical recycling technologies, particularly given the impetus provided by EU regulations, which will accelerate growth in demand for recycled plastic feedstocks across the region.

That said, operational challenges remain, the most significant of which is the need for a consistent, high-quality supply of well-sorted plastic waste. We are addressing this challenge by working closely with waste management businesses to ensure that WPU has the supply required to meet anticipated demand.

Supply is critical to the project’s success. For the economics to work, the plant needs to operate at full capacity consistently.

Q6: The Rotterdam facility will convert end-of-life plastics into circular feedstocks for new plastic production. How do you see chemically recycled pyrolysis oil evolving alongside conventional naphtha, and what role could it play in future steam cracker feedstock portfolios?

Mr Tom Baker: Raw pyrolysis oil needs to be upgraded before it can be used as a feedstock. Once it has been upgraded, we anticipate that the markets for upgraded pyrolysis oil and naphtha will operate in parallel. For the foreseeable future, upgraded pyrolysis oil will trade at a premium to naphtha, and it will likely be used to satisfy demand for circular feedstocks from the chemical and consumer-goods industries.

Q7: As Global Head of Naphtha, how do you assess the current global supply-demand balance for naphtha, particularly across Europe and Asia, and what structural market shifts do you anticipate over the next five to ten years?

Mr Tom Baker: The market in 2026 has clearly been shaped largely by events in the Middle East. Petrochemical margins are weak, and naphtha is being blended into gasoline. In the longer term, we expect demand for naphtha to continue to grow. By 2040, we expect petrochemical feedstocks to represent one-fifth of the demand barrel, equivalent to approximately 6 million barrels per day more than current levels.

Regionally, we expect petrochemical demand growth in Asia to be the most significant. By 2040, Asia is likely to represent 50% of feedstock demand, an increase of more than 3 million barrels per day. We also expect demand in North America and the Middle East to increase, adding 2 million barrels per day by 2040.

Q8: Global naphtha prices continue to be influenced by crude oil volatility, refinery operating rates, and petrochemical demand. How do you expect the increasing adoption of recycled feedstocks to affect naphtha pricing dynamics and market competitiveness in the years ahead?

Mr Tom Baker: These factors will continue to be the primary drivers of naphtha prices for the foreseeable future. Recycled feedstocks have an important role to play, but they are unlikely to be scaled up sufficiently over the next 15 years to affect the primary naphtha market. During this period, we expect recycled feedstocks to remain distinct, premium products.

Q9: The commercial success of chemical recycling depends on the economics of plastic waste collection, processing costs, and virgin feedstock prices. Which market variables do you believe will have the greatest influence on the competitiveness of recycled feedstocks relative to conventional naphtha?

Mr Tom Baker: All of the above will be influential, in addition to a favourable regulatory and commercial environment. Regulations will need to mandate the inclusion of recycled plastics, while consumers and corporations will need to maintain an interest in developing more sustainable products and packaging.

Q10: As demand for sustainable raw materials continues to grow, do you foresee recycled pyrolysis oil developing into a premium feedstock with its own pricing benchmarks, or will it remain closely linked to traditional naphtha pricing?

Mr Tom Baker: The two markets will necessarily be linked because the overall level of feedstock demand will affect the price of pyrolysis oil. That said, we expect pyrolysis oil to remain a premium feedstock for some time.

Q11: Feedstock security is critical for any large-scale recycling project. How is Vitol approaching the long-term sourcing of end-of-life plastic waste to ensure consistent plant utilisation while maintaining feedstock quality standards?

Mr Tom Baker: Working with trusted partners is essential. We are seeking to develop long-term commercial relationships with high-quality partners that can reliably source and sort the required plastic waste.

Q12: Europe’s regulatory landscape increasingly encourages recycled content and circular economy initiatives. How much of the investment case for projects such as WPU is driven by evolving policy frameworks versus underlying commercial market demand?

Mr Tom Baker: Regulatory frameworks that mandate the inclusion of recycled feedstocks are essential to the development of this market. The infrastructure required to process waste plastic requires significant investment, and such investment is practicable only when there is a degree of certainty regarding future demand for a product that currently commands a premium.

Q13: Many petrochemical producers are seeking certified circular feedstocks to meet sustainability commitments. How is customer demand evolving, and which downstream industries do you expect will lead adoption over the coming decade?

Mr Tom Baker: We anticipate that customer demand will accelerate as we approach the EU’s 2030 deadline. The past few years have been challenging for the industry, with volatility and uncertainty in hydrocarbon markets and higher energy prices heightening consumers’ concerns. Voluntary adoption has slowed, but major corporations are mindful of their regulatory obligations, and the EU’s regulations will affect many consumer sectors.

Q14: From a refining perspective, how do you see chemical recycling integrating with existing refinery and petrochemical infrastructure, and what opportunities does this create for improving resource efficiency and extending asset value?

Mr Tom Baker: Although recycling is independent of the refining process, co-location can provide a significant advantage because the pyrolysis oil can be fed directly into the refinery for upgrading, thereby reducing costs and increasing competitiveness.

Q15: Building a successful circular plastics ecosystem requires collaboration across technology providers, waste management companies, refiners, polymer producers, and brand owners. What role do strategic partnerships play in accelerating commercialisation and reducing investment risk?

Mr Tom Baker: Building such an ecosystem will be a long-term project, and strategic partners will be critical to its success. Every element must function properly for the ecosystem to be efficient and effective.

Q16: Industry stakeholders frequently highlight challenges around feedstock quality, certification, traceability, and mass-balance accounting. Which of these issues requires the greatest industry-wide collaboration to enable the large-scale deployment of chemical recycling?

Mr Tom Baker: All of them require industry-wide collaboration. This is a nascent technology. To accelerate its deployment, address the problem of plastic waste, and meet ambitious recycling targets, the entire value chain must collaborate to establish quality standards and procedures quickly. These measures will enable the industry to achieve scale.

Q17: As investment in advanced recycling accelerates globally, which regions do you believe are best positioned to become leaders in circular feedstock production, and what competitive advantages make those markets particularly attractive?

Mr Tom Baker: Plastic waste is a global problem, so all regions have the potential to become leaders. Scale will be critical. The leading regions will be those that can put in place robust, long-term regulatory frameworks to develop significant demand centres. In the near term, Europe is ahead, but we expect both the Middle East and Asia to develop quickly and become market leaders.

Q18: Beyond supporting sustainability objectives, what commercial opportunities does Vitol see emerging from the growing demand for circular feedstocks, particularly in terms of new business models, trading opportunities, and value creation across the petrochemical supply chain?

Mr Tom Baker: For Vitol, this is very much a commercial venture. We expect circular feedstocks to become an important complement to traditional feedstocks in the future, although demand will vary by region. Regulation will be the primary driver of demand, with circular feedstocks being blended for use in both sustainable aviation fuel and petrochemicals, depending on the applicable local regulatory framework.

Q19: Considering evolving crude oil fundamentals, changing petrochemical demand patterns, expanding recycling capacity, and the energy transition, what is your medium-term outlook for global naphtha prices, supply-demand fundamentals, and overall market sentiment?

Mr Tom Baker: By 2040, we expect petrochemical feedstocks to represent one-fifth of the demand barrel, equivalent to approximately 6 million barrels per day more than current levels. Regionally, we expect petrochemical demand growth in Asia to be the most significant. By 2040, Asia is likely to represent 50% of feedstock demand, an increase of more than 3 million barrels per day. We also expect demand in North America and the Middle East to increase, adding 2 million barrels per day by 2040.

Q20: Looking ahead, what is Vitol’s long-term vision for expanding its Waste Plastic Upcycling business, and how do you expect advanced chemical recycling to reshape global petrochemical supply chains, circular feedstock markets, and the future of sustainable plastics over the next decade?

Mr Tom Baker: As we have stated, we expect demand for circular feedstocks to grow significantly in the coming years. In this context, WPU and its proven, scalable, and proprietary technology have considerable potential for expansion. We are already planning our second plant in Rotterdam, with a capacity of 120,000 metric tonnes, and we intend to continue expanding both independently and through partnerships.