North America
S Korea’s petchem restructuring moves from talks to closures
South Korea’s long-running petrochemical restructuring drive has moved from negotiations to concrete capacity rationalization, with the first major integration completed in Daesan and another government-backed overhaul approved in Yeosu. However, progress remains uneven across the country, as restructuring talks in Ulsan continue to hinge on the startup and performance of S-Oil’s massive Shaheen project... 08-09-2026
European natural gas, Asian LNG hit fresh highs amid Middle East tensions
Natural gas prices in Europe and spot LNG prices in Northeast Asia have climbed to their highest levels in nearly four years, well exceeding the previous war-driven peaks in mid-March and mid-July, as renewed hostilities between the US and Iran revived concerns over prolonged disruptions to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The rally has brought gas markets back to levels last seen during the 2022-23 global energy crisis, while low European inventories and strong competition for LNG cargoes are adding to supply concerns... 04-09-2026
Global shipping faces persistent bottlenecks across major trade routes
Global supply chains remain exposed to a patchwork of geopolitical, weather-related and infrastructure disruptions in August, with conditions deteriorating at some of the world’s key trade arteries from the Middle East and Asia to Europe and Americas even as tentative signs of normalization emerge elsewhere. The result is not a single global shipping crisis, but an accumulation of regional bottlenecks that continues to undermine schedule reliability and complicate trade flows... 20-08-2026
War or recovery? H1 earnings reshuffle petchem winners and losers
The Middle East war sharply altered the global petrochemical landscape in the second quarter of 2026, but the financial impact was far from uniform. First-half results from major producers reveal a widening divide between companies directly exposed to production, feedstock and logistics disruptions and those able to capitalize on the resulting supply squeeze, higher prices and shifting feedstock economics... 19-08-2026