This is the first issue about China olefins' production costs. CCM chooses naphtha-, coal- and imported methanol-based olefin projects to carry out the cost analysis. Along with the price changes of raw materials and by-products, CCM drafted the trend graphs concerning the production costs of three major raw materials used in the production of ethylene and propylene. Also, according to the model for price prediction developed by CCM, we depend on the historical data to provide you with the predicted data in the following two months. The latest news will be referred to, and experts will be invited to make analysis.
In line with CCM’s cost analysis model, the production costs of naphtha- and coal-based processes stayed relatively stable, while the imported methanol-based process fluctuates largely with the highest risks. Due to the decreasing spot price of methanol caused by rising supply in the world in 2014, the cost of methanol-based process is estimated to be lower than that of naphtha-based one by Aug. 2014.
In June 2014, the coal-to-olefins projects captured most attention due to the following reasons. For one thing, China Shenhua’s Yulin project was halted and drew wide attention. Since the whole society raises higher and higher requirements on environmental protection, the coal chemical industry is doubted for its high pollution and high energy consumption. For another, the serious oversupply in coal market enforces the traditional coal enterprises to seek for transformation and upgrading. Of this, to improve the added value of coal is a major solution.
However, the projects have been promoted with the controversies going on. In June 2014, Anhui government approved the Overall Development Plan for Anhui Huainan New Coal Chemical Base, which covers the construction of a million t/a coal-to-olefins project. Will China find out a way to develop olefins industry? This issue will offer you detailed analysis on the market.
In June 2014, China Customs released the April statistics of naphtha and methanol, presenting big differences. Based on this, CCM conducts analysis and presents the influences from the import changes in the first four months on China’s olefins industry.
The RMB/USD exchange rate in this issue is USD1.00=RMB6.1557 on 23 June, 2014, sourced from the People's Bank of China.
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