Petrochemical margins squeezed; volatility seen

[SINGAPORE] Petrochemical margins are likely to remain under pressure and could be volatile this year, warned Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (PCS) managing director Akira Yonemura.

In the face of challenges such as the start-up of more new Gulf plants, which will only worsen petrochemicals overcapacity, the $5.4 billion PCS complex - Singapore's oldest petrochemical complex that completed 30 years of operations last month - is looking to several plant improvements.

This includes work to boost in-house energy efficiency and reduce utilities costs at its Jurong Island complex, as well as completion this second quarter of a US$100-150 million, 100,000 tonne per annum (tpa) butadiene plant expansion which will double its butadiene output to help fuel new synthetic rubber plants there.