Shale Gas Expansions Drive U.S. Bulk Chemical Exports

Recent production additions have resulted in a 10-MMT increase in bulk liquid chemicals in the last year, and by 2025 U.S. bulk liquid chemical additions will expand by more than 25 MMT, IHS reports. The most notable bulk liquid chemical additions will be in methanol. “Chemical producers are clearly looking to take advantage of continued low natural gas prices in the U.S., which is enabling the significant expansion of these methane-based projects,” said Chris Geisler, director, chemical consulting, at IHS Chemical and author of the analysis. “With so many projects coming online, this phenomenal growth is changing the global trade landscape. Currently, the U.S. is a major importer of methanol, but by 2018, the U.S. will be a major net exporter of methanol, which is a significant shift for the U.S. industry.”

The vast majority of new olefin chemical production will be converted to solid plastic resins and exported, notes IHS. With the exceptions of the ammonia and fertilizer production chains, the vast majority of expansion will be centered in Texas and Louisiana. Within Texas, firm capacity additions stretch from Beaumont to Corpus Christi, including several within the Houston Ship Channel. Solid fertilizer and plastics trade will change substantially in the U.S., as well as bulk liquids trade for products such as caustic soda, methanol, and ethylene glycol, Geisler says. “This capacity expansion means there will be a significant uptick in chemical trade activity and logistics considerations for not only producers and traders, but also the key ports, terminals, and logistics providers, primarily on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast,” he adds. “As these chemical products expand, we expect to see increased marine, rail, and truck traffic, primarily in the U.S. Gulf Coast, but possibly later that activity will expand elsewhere.”

“Base aromatics—benzene, toluene, xylenes—have not benefitted from shale gas developments, but aromatic derivatives, particularly styrene, have benefitted,” says Peter Feng, director of aromatics at IHS Chemical. “Tight oil and shale gas have impacted the outlook for naphtha and octane, and unlike some of the other petrochemicals, there are only a limited number of expansion plans for North American aromatics.” The impact on trade flows, he comments, has been pronounced. “North America will be a growing net importer of benzene and the region has flipped from being a net exporter of toluene, mixed xylene and paraxylene, to a net importer. From a logistics perspective, this will be important as ships transporting shale-gas-advantaged production like methanol out of the region will need products to bring back into North America as well.”

Low U.S. natural gas prices are driving lower electricity costs, the IHS report observes, which will likely incentivize U.S. chemical operators to increase rates in the near term and to expand long term. Methyl tertiary-butyl ether, although no longer used in the U.S. gasoline pool, is expected to see expanded export potential. Finally, ethylene glycol production will increase on the longer term, moving the U.S. from a net importer to a net exporter. As other methanol, ethylene, and propylene liquid derivative facilities are built, trade in bulk liquid chemicals will increase further.