High-density polyethylene: Feedstocks

Pure polymerised ethylene, so ethane wins

What this tab covers What it is made from and what it feeds: the raw materials and energy per tonne with their share of cost (linked to the commodity table), who is low-cost and why, and the chemicals made from it.

HDPE is essentially pure polymerised ethylene, so ethylene sets about 75-90% of cash cost and most of the footprint. The cost curve is the ethylene curve: US and Gulf ethane-based plants lowest, Chinese integrated and coal-based mid-curve, naphtha-based Europe, Japan and Korea highest.

Inputs per tonne

Input	Quantity per tonne	Role	Share of cost	Source
Gas Natural gas	about 1.0 t ethylene per t HDPE; about 1.25 t ethane per t ethylene (ethylene tile)	monomer in US, Gulf and gas-based Indian units	about 75-80% (indicative)	ethylene tile; indicative
Oil Crude oil	about 1.0 t ethylene; about 3.3 t naphtha per t ethylene with co-products (ethylene tile)	monomer in Asia and Europe	about 80-90% (indicative)	ethylene tile; indicative
Butene-1 or hexene-1 comonomer	0-3% by weight (indicative)	controls density and stress-crack resistance	about 1-3% (indicative)	indicative
Cr Chromium	under 0.1 kg per t (indicative)	polymerisation catalysts; chromium grades for blow moulding	about 1-2% (indicative)	indicative
Electricity and steam	about 0.4-0.6 MWh per t (indicative)	compression, diluent recovery, extrusion	about 5-8% (indicative)	indicative

Who is low-cost, and why

US integrated ethane-to-PE margins averaged about $580/t in early 2026 against a historic $830/t (Argus via ethylene tile), keeping US and Gulf exporters profitable in the trough. Non-integrated Asian HDPE makers buying naphtha-based ethylene are the marginal, highest-cost supply.

Raw materials on the commodity table

Gas Natural gas Oil Crude oil

What it is made into

Product	Note
bPE Bio-based polyethylene and MEG	bio-HDPE is made the same way from sugarcane ethylene