Capital Cost
The capital cost is the summation of the ISBL and OSBL capital costs and represents our best estimate of the current capital outlay required to build the plant.
Cash Cost Margin
The cash cost margin is the margin achieved over cash costs from sales realising the netback value at the plant gate. Petrochemical producers can run plants at a negative cash cost margin, although they will fail to recover enough cash to fully fund maintenance and manning costs during this time.
Co-Cracking
Co-product streams from crackers can be routed back through the cracker with the cracker feedstock (e.g. naphtha) and co-cracked with the cracker feedstock. This is usually done if there is no alternative use for the co-product or if the cracker feedstock cost is high. Co-products treated in this way are given a "co-crack" value; that is, its value to the cracker as a feedstock as opposed to a market value.
Co-Product
A co-product is a product that is produced as a by-product during the conversion of feedstock to the desired primary product in a petrochemical process. Almost all petrochemical processes produce some form of co-product, although many can only be vented or used as fuel streams. A number of processes however produce economically significant co-product streams and act as an alternative source for these chemicals.
Current Monetary Basis
Nexant uses the term "Current Monetary Basis" to describe prices and costs in money of the day, i.e. as published at the time being considered. This is also referred to as a "nominal basis".
Current money ignores the value eroding effect of inflation which makes US$1 in 2010 being worth less on a purchasing basis than US$1 in 1990.
Nexant also presents results on a "Constant Monetary Basis"; this uses the US GDP Deflator to convert published nominal values in "real" values thereby allowing more direct comparisons of costs and prices across decades.