Russia-Ukraine war driving up feedstock costs triggers petrochemical crisis in Asia
Asia’s petrochemical producers are scrambling to cut operating rates and switch to alternative feedstock to cope with over decade-high naphtha costs aggravated by volatile crude prices sparked by the Russia-Ukraine war , which have sent margins teetering near negative value. Naphtha-fed steam crackers in Asia had started reducing runs since late-2021 to manage meagre margins. Some operators slashed those rates…