Now for the glut
Petrochemical supplies are still rising but demand growth is less certain than it was
IN JUBAIL Industrial City, a huge new petrochemical cracker unit is being brought on line. The unit, being built by Sadara Chemical Company, will be the Middle East's first mixed-feedstock cracker, and part of the largest chemical complex ever built in a single phase, consisting of 26 chemical-manufacturing units. They will produce 1.5m tonnes a year (t/y) of ethylene and around 400,000 t/y of propylene. Sadara will crack naphtha - an oil-derived feedstock - as well as ethane; and the decision to build it was made four years ago, with one big target in mind: China's roaring economy and its massive consumer market. Indeed, Asia remains the big hope for petrochemical producers and exporters.
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6 March 2026
The March 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
6 March 2026
After Europe’s rapid buildout of floating LNG import capacity, Exmar CEO Carl-Antoine Saverys says future growth in floating gas infrastructure will increasingly be driven by developing markets as lower prices, rising energy demand and the need to replace coal unlock new opportunities for unconventional and tailor-made solutions
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
