US shale exports open the door to Asian chemicals makers | beyondbrics

US shale exports open the door to Asian chemicals makers | beyondbrics:

"For years, US chemical companies have benefitted from the Obama administration’s efforts to make the shale gas boom the saviour of US energy security. With US companies forbidden to export gas, the chemicals industry, for whom natural gas is a major ingredient, has enjoyed artificially low prices.

The administration’s decision to end the ban on exports of US shale gas will let Asian suppliers back into the market for valuable plastics.

Thanks to shale, the price of domestically produced natural gas in the US dropped from $12 per million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) in 2008 to $3.35 today. Asian chemical companies – such as PTT Global Chemical in Thailand, China Steel Chemical in Taiwan and LG Chem in South Korea – which produce valuable plastics such as ethylene (an ingredient for detergents) and methanol (a base product used in windshield fluids and gasoline additives) simply couldn’t compete."

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