Walk Softly On This Heart Of Mine – Olin Explores Options In PVC, ORLEN Realizes The Price Is Wrong For Olefins III

Companies Mentioned: Olin, Westlake, Shin-Etsu, Occidental, Formosa, ORLEN, Kinder Morgan, Borealis, Shandong Yulong, CNOOC, Shell, BASF, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ADNOC, INEOS, Harbour Energy, Technip FMC, Technip Energies, GE Vernova, Hapag-Lloyd, Nordsøfonden
Commodities Mentioned: PVC, EDC, Chlor-Alkali, Chlorine, Caustic Soda, Propylene Oxide, Olefins, Ethylene Oxide, Glycols, Styrene, C4 Fractions, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, LNG, Coal, Carbon, C02, Nuclear, Wind

Key Findings

General Thoughts: Weak global demand and oversupplied petrochemical markets have compressed profits for most, and it is putting some low-cost chemical producers in a difficult spot in terms of driving value over volume.
Supply Chain/Commodities: We provide Chlor-vinyl market takeaways from the Olin investor day event, discuss ORLEN throwing in the towel for the Olefins III project amid surging costs, and flag a few global project developments.
Energy/Upstream: We discuss a Kinder Morgan business update putting forth a positive view of natural gas fundamentals amid surging power demand and the build-out of infrastructure to serve high-priced global markets.
Sustainability/Energy Transition: We discuss EU and UK carbon prices, a major European CCS project reaching FID, and the recent uptick in efforts across the Middle East to grow its carbon trading infrastructure and scale.
Downstream/Other Chemicals: We highlight US consumer and producer price inflation in November, strength in domestic food prices that are unlikely to reverse aggressively, and another ECB rate cut to stimulate demand.