“The View from Jamestown” Chemical Podcast
Hosted by The Chemical Company
Episode 135 | Q1 2026 Update with Kathy Hall
Join host Ben Sawicki for our quarterly update with Kathy Hall, and special guest Miguel Cambeiro from OPIS. The group recaps 2025, specifically the last few weeks and months, and a view forward for the early part of 2026.
Highlights Include:
European rationalization, asset acquisitions and plans
Global consumer demand update
Venezuela & Impacts to oil prices
Stream all of this and more on Episode 135!
Including:
Miguel Cambeiro: Principal Journalist, Europe – OPIS
Miguel LinkedIn
Kathy Hall: Executive Director Product Management, Global Petrochemicals – Petrochem Wire
khall@opisnet.com
Host: Ben Sawicki
The Chemical Company
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Produced by:
Kettlebottom Creative
What you’ll learn in this episode
• Why Europe’s cycle low has lasted unusually long and what that’s triggering across the industry (closures, consolidation, restructurings)
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• The demand problem: how cost of living, inflation, and utility costs are reducing discretionary spend and dampening end-markets like autos and construction
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• Major storyline: SABIC Europe asset sale (and what private equity ownership might change)
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• Why crude near ~$60/bbl and the Venezuela headline matter for the next leg of pricing and competitiveness
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• Europe feedstock & competitiveness: oil-based cost structure, aging units, and the looming impact of new capacity like INEOS Project One (Antwerp) ethane cracker
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• Planning in uncertainty: how market participants are approaching forecasting and “new normal” volatility
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