Competing for feedstock advantage in a tighter supply environment

Competition for feedstocks is intensifying as petrochemical capacity expands across major industrial hubs. The IEA reported slower growth in petrochemical feedstock demand in 2025 as trade disruption and weaker industrial activity weighed on petrochemical markets. Yet feedstock cost, availability and flexibility continue to influence how producers compete for investment and market share. Disruptions to hydrocarbon supply have reinforced that feedstock availability, not just cost, can constrain downstream production, with ethane-advantaged regions pulling ahead and naphtha-based systems remaining exposed to crude-linked volatility. Producers are responding by investing in multi-feedstock flexibility and repositioning around basins where structural access to competitive hydrocarbons is strongest. The gap between advantaged and constrained production systems is widening, and feedstock strategy is increasingly shaping long-term investment decisions and regional competitiveness rather than being treated as a logistics consideration. Producers that secure structural feedstock advantage now will define where downstream capacity is built and who captures the margin as supply conditions tighten.