ABSTRACT
Petrochemicals and plastics are the end products in one of the hydrocarbon value chains that start with crude oil or natural gas. Petrochemical and plastics derivatives have still to take off fully to match oil markets' liquidity despite numerous attempts by exchanges to launch products either based on price reporting agency (PRA) assessments or on physical delivery. Of the three global PRAs, Platts has the longest history in petrochemical reporting but it is Independent Chemical Information Services (ICIS) that is most focused on the petrochemical markets. The PetroChem Wire is a daily independent publication that focuses on coverage of the North American natural gas liquids (NGLs), olefins and polymers markets. The other active PRA in the US petrochemical markets is Chemical Data, which was founded in Houston, Texas in 1979. Base oils, lubricants and petroleum wax are niche, high value products that occupy the border between petrochemicals and refined products. There is substantial competition among PRAs to report these markets.
