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Ethylene crackers, Gulf Coast
Houston (Texas), United States29.74°N 95.01°W
computed criticality19/100
reading
ethane advantage ≈$200–300/t over naphtha; China +23 Mt of capacity by 2030
2025Fault line
Ethylene is the mother molecule of petrochemicals: polymers, solvents, precursors. The Gulf Coast steam crackers, fed on cheap shale ethane, undercut European and Asian naphtha crackers. But the wave of Chinese capacity, structural overcapacity on more than 90% of base products expected around 2030, shifts the centre of gravity and undermines high-cost Western producers.
Actors
ExxonMobil (Baytown)
Dow (Freeport)
Chevron Phillips (Baytown)
Sinopec / PetroChina (China)
Depends on 1
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