Polyethylene (LDPE, LLDPE): Feedstocks
Why US and Gulf ethane plants sit on top
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.LDPE and LLDPE are about 99% ethylene by mass, with 7-10% comonomer in LLDPE. Ethylene is 70-90% of cash cost, so PE competitiveness is ethylene competitiveness: US and Gulf ethane crackers win, Chinese coal and integrated refinery crackers sit mid-curve, and naphtha crackers in Europe, Japan and Korea are highest cost.
Inputs per tonne
| Input | Quantity per tonne | Role | Share of cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gas Natural gas | about 1.01-1.02 t ethylene per t PE; about 1.25 t ethane per t ethylene (ethylene tile) | monomer in US, Middle East and gas-based Indian crackers (GAIL Pata) | about 70-80% of cash cost (indicative) | ethylene tile; indicative |
| Oil Crude oil | about 1.02 t ethylene per t PE; about 3.3 t naphtha per t ethylene with co-products (ethylene tile) | monomer in Europe, Japan, Korea, most of China and India | about 80-90% of cash cost (indicative) | ethylene tile; indicative |
| Comonomers (butene-1, hexene-1, octene-1) | about 0.07-0.10 t per t LLDPE (indicative) | short-chain branches for toughness; hexene and octene command premiums | about 8-12% for LLDPE (indicative) | indicative |
| Electricity | about 0.8-1.1 MWh per t LDPE; about 0.4-0.5 MWh per t gas-phase LLDPE (indicative) | compression and extrusion | about 5-10% (indicative) | indicative |
| Ti Titanium | under 0.1 kg per t of polymer (indicative) | LLDPE polymerisation catalysts | about 1-3% (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), so US and Gulf producers stay profitable through the trough. Asian naphtha-based producers lost money on ethylene in 2023-2025, and non-integrated PE makers that buy ethylene were squeezed hardest in the 2026 Hormuz spike, when CFR NE Asia ethylene ($1,445-1,455/t on 8 Apr 2026) was above Far East Asia LLDPE film ($1,150-1,200/t on 15 Apr 2026) (Polymerupdate).
Raw materials on the commodity table
Gas Natural gasOil Crude oilWhat it is made into
| Product | Note |
|---|---|
| bPE Bio-based polyethylene and MEG | same polymer made from sugarcane ethanol |