“The View from Jamestown” Chemical Podcast
Hosted by The Chemical Company
Episode 146 | Q3 2026 Update with Big Kathy Energy
Join host Ben Sawicki for our quarterly update with Kathy Hall, including a global view on Oil, Ethylene, Benzene and more.
Highlights Include:
Outlook on the Iran conflict & impacts to oil
Benzene volatility
New Ethylene reporting metrics
Stream all of this and more on Episode 141!
Kathy Hall
Founder & Proprietor: Big Kathy Energy
[email protected]
Host: Ben Sawicki
The Chemical Company
www.thechemco.com
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Produced by:
Kettlebottom Creative
Produced by:
Kettlebottom Creative
Summary:
In Episode 146 of The View from Jamestown, Ben welcomes back petrochemical market expert Kathy Hall for a Q3 summertime market update. Kathy also discusses her new venture, Big Kathy Energy, which provides market intelligence and analysis.
The conversation focuses heavily on supply-side concerns, global logistics, and the increasingly interconnected nature of chemical markets. Kathy explains why supply disruptions are currently a bigger concern than demand, particularly during the summer months when demand is typically strongest. They discuss the continuing effects of transportation challenges, the Rhine River’s historically low water levels, Middle East tensions, and elevated freight costs out of Asia.
Kathy also provides insight into ethylene and benzene markets, including the emergence of the new Spindletop ethylene hub in Beaumont, Texas, which could create additional flexibility and options for U.S. ethylene markets. Benzene, meanwhile, remains significantly more volatile, with uncertainty around pricing, exports, imports, and downstream styrene demand.
A major theme throughout the episode is how interconnected today’s chemical markets have become. A disruption in one part of the world can create ripple effects several steps away, making freight volumes, logistics, supply availability, and global energy prices increasingly important indicators for buyers and sellers.
As the episode wraps up, Kathy emphasizes the importance of watching freight traffic, export volumes, global natural gas prices, and the flow of materials into Asia as indicators of where markets may be headed over the next several months.
