26 June 2015
Chemicals business lacking growth
The chemicals business cycle free-wheeled last year as capacity grew by more than demand
The worldwide chemicals business failed to grow as much as hoped for last year, owing to weak economies. First-quarter results point to improving prospects this year, but there is no prospect of a dramatic swing in the chemicals cycle.Petroleum Economist’s latest annual analysis of the chemicals business, based on the results of the large chemicals companies and the oil companies’ chemicals subsidiaries, shows that average profitability declined marginally last year. The sector achieved an average return on assets of 9.6% in 2014, against 10.0% in 2013 (see Table 1). Last year’s result confirms the trend of recent years of relatively minor movements in the chemicals cycle, in contrast to the
Also in this section
20 February 2026
The country is pushing to increase production and expand key projects despite challenges including OPEC+ discipline and the limitations of its export infrastructure
20 February 2026
Europe has transformed into a global LNG demand powerhouse over the last few years, with the fuel continuing to play a key role in safeguarding the continent’s energy security, Carsten Poppinga, chief commercial officer at Uniper, tells Petroleum Economist
20 February 2026
Sempra Infrastructure’s vice president for marketing and commercial development, Carlos de la Vega, outlines progress across the company’s US Gulf Coast and Mexico Pacific Coast LNG portfolio, including construction at Port Arthur LNG, continued strong performance at Cameron LNG and development of ECA LNG
19 February 2026
US LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has grown its business rapidly since exporting its first cargo a decade ago. But Chief Commercial Officer Anatol Feygin tells Petroleum Economist that, as in the past, the company’s future expansion plans are anchored by high levels of contracted offtake, supporting predictable returns on investment
