This three-day course provides a fundamental understanding of petrochemical economics and the feedstock/price inter-relationships affecting market competitiveness. It will analyse the fundamentals of competitiveness in producing base chemicals and how these will affect business decisions, process and feedstock selection. Participants will analyse production and supply costs which will highlight the price determining mechanisms and opportunities for profits in the industry. The course is not aimed at existing experts but instead, serves as an introduction to more specialised courses.

Please note: a laptop and up-to-date version of Office would be an advantage in order to engage in market data; however it is not essential.

What you will learn

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Asia Pacific Europe, Middle East, Africa, Central & South America North America

This course is for managers, planners and commercial marketing/supply personnel, from both established petrochemical producers and new entrants. Additionally, bankers and others who offer services from feedstock suppliers will benefit.

Industry Structure and Feedstock Linkages

• Petrochemicals related to refining, gasoline and fuels
• Upstream and downstream feedstock linkages

Petrochemical Economics

• Costing: cash and full costs, variable and marginal costs, cost curves and competitor cost structure
• Pricing, price setting mechanisms, price monitoring

Feedstocks - An Analysis

• Petrochemical feedstocks for cracking, reforming and intermediates production
• The oil refinery and refining/petrochemicals interface

Technology and Economics of Olefins and Aromatics

• Process descriptions and flow descriptions
• Methodology of cost of production analyses and sensitivities
• Steam cracker economics
• Effect of different feedstocks on yields
• Aromatics economics

Commodity Polymer Trends

• Trends in production and markets
• Polymer usage, LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, PP, PS, PVC
• Interpolymer competition and price equilibrium
• Motivation for polymer trade and impact on established producing areas

Faculty

Mr Richard Sleep is the global director of Nexant’s ChemSystems Online and Petroleum and Petrochemical Economics (PPE) programmes. (Nexant acquired Chem Systems from IBM in 2001). He has 25 years of experience in the petrochemical industry in production, business management, trading and consulting. Prior to joining ChemSystems in 1994 he had been a trader with Metallgesellschaft Petrochemicals Corp. He spent twelve years with BP Chemicals Ltd in a variety of roles, initially in production as a mechanical engineer working at BP Chemicals' steam crackers at Baglan Bay and Grangemouth and subsequently in commercial roles including five years as Propylene Product Manager. Prior to joining BP Chemicals he worked for ICI as an engineer working on polyethylene and perspex plants.

Testimonials

"Excellent course, well presented.” J.M., Sasol Polymers

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