Houston/Singapore — Drive down any highway in the world and you will see countless reminders that the price of Big Oil’s primary product is rising. What is less obvious is how the inflationary pressures from transport fuel are being amplified by another part of this sprawling industry: chemicals.

The cost of the building blocks for everything from plastics to paint has surged over the past year. That is great for companies such as ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, whose petrochemical units just earned their biggest profit in years...

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