As the world strives to wean itself off fossil fuels, oil companies have been turning to plastic as the key to their future. Now that’s looking overly optimistic.
Plastic bottles and other garbage float in the river Drina in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Crackdowns on plastic trash may reduce global demand for petrochemicals.
“Oil companies are saying: No problem, we’ll invest in petrochemicals,” Bjacek said. “But petrochemicals, after the circular economy happens to the maximum extent, is likely to be a low-growth market.”Demand for gasoline is faltering as electric-vehicle sales surge and conventional cars become more efficient. But oil is essential for much more than just transportation: It is broken down into chemicals and plastics used in every aspect of modern life.
Projects by companies including Hengli Petrochemical Co. and Rongsheng Petrochemical Co. will devote as much as half their capacity to chemicals, mostly paraxylene, a material that China imports to make polyester and plastic bottles. That’s a sharp increase from the 10% chemical production at a typical refinery and as much as 20% at modern refineries integrated with chemical plants.
Aramco last year added two chemical executives to its board of directors: Andrew Liveris, former chief executive of Dow Chemical Co., and Peter Cella, former CEO of Chevron Phillips Chemical Co.
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