Big Oil’s Weak Chemical Margins Add to Pain of Cheaper Crude
- Oversupply hurts sector touted as future of oil industry
- Exxon, Shell invested heavily in new US petrochemical plants
An employee operates the utility plant at a petrochemical complex in Gregory, Texas, U.S.
Photographer: Eddie Seal/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Plunging margins for petrochemicals are set to take a bite out of Big Oil’s quarterly profits, adding to the pain companies are feeling from lower oil and gas prices.
Sluggish demand for consumer goods that use plastics and rubber, combined with a flood of new factories in the US and China, means margins face a potentially protracted downturn.