6 June 2019
Transformation and sustainability may be the new watchwords
Shrinking optimism over the longer term
Long-term optimism among chemical company CEOs may be shrinking after years of steady growth, fuelled by a global economic slowdown and trade tensions. While the one-year growth outlook is at its highest level in five years, the three-year growth outlook is conversely at its lowest in half a decade. Some of these concerns could be attributed to lingering uncertainties over China's economy, volatile oil prices, and economic uncertainties related to Brexit and the eurozone. But that would be just scratching the surface. Concerns over long-term trends in sustainability now play a much more central role. Given the close ties between the chemical and existing fossil fuels industries, chemical com

Also in this section
1 August 2025
A number of companies have filed arbitration claims against Gazprom over non-deliveries of contracted gas or other matters—and won. The next step is to collect the award; this is no easy task but it can be done thanks to an international legal framework under the New York Convention.
1 August 2025
Europe’s refining sector is desperately trying to adapt to a shifting global energy landscape and nowhere is this more apparent than in its largest economy
1 August 2025
The Middle East natural gas playbook is being rewritten. The fuel source offers the region a pathway to a cleaner, sustainable and affordable means of local power, to fasttrack economic development and as a lucrative opportunity to better monetise its energy resources.
31 July 2025
TotalEnergies is an outlier among other majors for remaining committed to low-carbon investments while continuing to replenish and expand its ample oil and gas portfolio, with an appetite for high risk/high return projects.