Styrene Supply Tight this Winter
The supply of styrene in the North has been tight over the last month, which is different from the winter in the past few years. The following is the specific situation of styrene supply and demand in the north. (Shandong, North China and Northeast China are collectively referred to as the north here.)
Looking back on the past, the demand in the north began to weaken every winter, especially in the northeast region. Before 2019, the supply and demand in the northeast region were basically balanced. After 2019, with the 1,070 kt/a styrene capacity at Dalian Hengli Petrochemical and Liaoning Bora Petrochemical put into operation, the supply in the northeast region began to be surplus, and local goods began to be sold to Shandong and North China by automobile and ship.
In the past, Shandong’s styrene supply was surplus. When the supply in Northeast China flowed into Shandong, the local price fell passively, and the arbitrage window with Jiangsu opened.
The supply in North China was short before Tangshan Xuyang Chemical’s unit was put into operation, and the regional supply and demand gradually balanced after that. Therefore, accepting the supply of goods from other regions would only lead to a decline in the price in the region, not the outflow of supply.
In the winter of 2021, the supply in Shandong decreased, but the demand increased.
There are seven styrene enterprises in Shandong with a total production capacity of 1,470 kt/a. Normally, local resources are transported to East China by ship, and some spot goods are sent to Henan, Sichuan, Chengdu and other regions. Of course, due to geographical location, there will also be goods from Anhui flowing into Shandong. After September 2021, the supply in Shandong began to decrease gradually, and the spot supply in the region is tight at present. The following table shows the recent shutdown of enterprises around Shandong. Shandong Yuhuang Chemical and Shengyuan Petrochemical are the main enterprises selling styrene to other regions in Shandong. Although Sinochem Hongrun Petrochemical’s 120kt/a unit was put into operation, there was also demand increase in Shandong.
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