It will take time for the demand for refining catalysts to pick up

At the beginning of last year, the global spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic led to blockade measures around the world, resulting in stagnation of transportation activities and a sharp drop in fuel consumption.

Product demand is difficult to recover

Many people in the catalyst industry said that demand disruption caused by the new crown pneumonia epidemic is the main factor affecting the medium-term market demand for refined oil.

As the refining catalyst demand is closely related to the fuel demand, the time to recover the fuel demand is almost equal to the time to recover the catalyst demand.

Two products have the greatest impact

Aixin Huamai said that the FCC and hydrotreating units are the refining units most affected by the epidemic, and the recovery of the corresponding catalyst market is more difficult.

Regarding the future situation, Crawford said that FCC demand will increase with the load of the refinery.

However, Payne said that the impact of the epidemic on the demand for hydroprocessing catalysts is not as severe as the demand for FCC catalysts.

Environmental protection pressure is increasing day by day

The refining catalyst industry is being hit by environmental pressures from the oil and gas industry.

　　In this context, refining catalyst companies are also stepping up the development of low-carbon technologies.

　　Jim Chilenpol, Vice President of BASF Refining Catalysts, said: “BASF will continue to focus on promoting more cost-effective innovations and launch new products.

　　Johnson Matthey said that the company's focus is on sustainable technologies, namely hydrogen production technology and decarbonization technology.