Dow restarting Freeport polyethylene unit

Spanish Market: Petrochemicals
15/04/24

Dow today began the start up of its Polyethylene 4 unit in Freeport, Texas, following an earlier shutdown, according to a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The restart is expected to continue through 18 April, resulting in some ethylene emissions. The shutdown occurred following a decomposition reaction at the unit.

It was not immediately clear how long the unit has been down or whether there has been a loss of production. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Dow has approximately 1.685mn t/yr of total PE capacity at its Freeport plant.

By Michelle Klump

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24/01/25

Dow to idle one cracker at Terneuzen: Update

Adds butadiene capacity London, 24 January (Argus) — Dow is postponing a planned turnaround at one of its three steam crackers in Terneuzen, the Netherlands, "due to continued weakened market conditions in the region". This will result in the cracker being idled when its legal inspection dates are reached, understood to be within the next few months. "The decision enables Dow to both navigate soft market conditions in the region and reduce expenditures in 2025, while still enabling the company to safely, reliably, and profitably meet contracted customer commitments", Dow said. Local reports citing workers suggest that the unit in question is the number 3 cracker at Terneuzen. This was expected to have maintenance in 2023, but that was previously postponed to this year and has now been postponed indefinitely. Cracker 3 is the newest unit at Terneuzen and in common with crackers 1 and 2 has a high degree of flexibility for LPG feedstocks, which Dow has repeatedly cited has supported healthy operating margins relative to naphtha-based crackers. But the site is long on cracker products and placing volumes in the market has been challenging because of overall weak demand in Europe. The length was exacerbated by the closure of local derivatives such as ethylbenzene-styrene production operated by Trinseo and cumene production operated by Olin in 2023. It has been unclear how hard the three crackers at Terneuzen have been running in the past two years. Dow's internal and contractual demand may be supported by the remaining two crackers. There is no timeline on any restart, but it is likely to be dependent on demand and investment to complete required maintenance. Terneuzen 3 has nameplate capacities of 600,000 t/yr ethylene and 300,000 t/yr propylene. The other operating crackers have a combined capacity of 1.2mn t/yr, feeding local PE production of 880,000 t/yr. Propylene nameplate capacity of these crackers is 590,000 t/yr, which is shipped to Dow and other customers via vessel or in the northwest European pipeline system. The site also has the capacity to produce up to 170,000 t/yr of butadiene. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Dow to idle one cracker at Terneuzen

24/01/25

Dow to idle one cracker at Terneuzen

London, 24 January (Argus) — Dow is postponing a planned turnaround at one of its three steam crackers in Terneuzen, the Netherlands, "due to continued weakened market conditions in the region". This will result in the cracker being idled when its legal inspection dates are reached, understood to be within the next few months. "The decision enables Dow to both navigate soft market conditions in the region and reduce expenditures in 2025, while still enabling the company to safely, reliably, and profitably meet contracted customer commitments", Dow said. Local reports citing workers suggest that the unit in question is the number 3 cracker at Terneuzen. This was expected to have maintenance in 2023, but that was previously postponed to this year and has now been postponed indefinitely. Cracker 3 is the newest unit at Terneuzen and in common with crackers 1 and 2 has a high degree of flexibility for LPG feedstocks, which Dow has repeatedly cited has supported healthy operating margins relative to naphtha-based crackers. But the site is long on cracker products and placing volumes in the market has been challenging because of overall weak demand in Europe. The length was exacerbated by the closure of local derivatives such as ethylbenzene-styrene production operated by Trinseo and cumene production operated by Olin in 2023. It has been unclear how hard the three crackers at Terneuzen have been running in the past two years. Dow's internal and contractual demand may be supported by the remaining two crackers. There is no timeline on any restart, but it is likely to be dependent on demand and investment to complete required maintenance. Terneuzen 3 has nameplate capacities of 600,000 t/yr ethylene and 300,000 t/yr propylene. The other operating crackers have a combined capacity of 1,200,000 t/yr feeding local PE production of 880,000 t/yr. Propylene nameplate capacity of these crackers is 590,000 t/yr, which is shipped to Dow and other customers via vessel or in the northwest European pipeline system. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Texas, Louisiana ports closed by winter storm: Update

21/01/25

Texas, Louisiana ports closed by winter storm: Update

Updates status of operations at Port Houston facilities. Houston, 21 January (Argus) — Ports in Texas and Louisiana remained closed to shipping traffic Tuesday afternoon due to a winter storm, a shipping agent said. Marine pilots suspended boardings at the Texas ports of Houston, Galveston, Texas City and Freeport late on 20 January. Traffic also was halted at the Sabine-Neches Waterway on the Texas-Louisiana border, which offers access to terminals and refineries in Port Arthur and Beaumont, Texas, as well as Cheniere's Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas terminal. Pilots also halted traffic at the Louisiana port of Lake Charles late on 20 January. Port Houston facilities, which include eight public terminals on the Houston Ship Channel, will remain closed through Wednesday, according to statement from port officials. Vessel operations may resume at container terminals on Wednesday evening, the statement said. By Tray Swanson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US housing permits drop in Dec, PVC demand stagnant

17/01/25

US housing permits drop in Dec, PVC demand stagnant

Houston, 17 January (Argus) — A decline in US housing permits in December signaled continued constrains on new construction to start 2025, even as single-family starts rose. Suspension-grade polyvinyl chloride (PVC) contracts in the US were flat for December with Argus assessing the price at 57.5¢/lb. Discussions for January point to a possible rollover as well, even as feedstock ethylene prices rise, because demand is still soft at the start of the new year. Privately-owned US housing permits declined to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.483mn units in December, down 0.7pc from November and 3.1pc off from December 2023 according to the US Census Bureau and the Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Single-family permits were at a rate of 992,000 units in December, up 1.6pc from November but still 2.5pc lower from a year earlier. New starts were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.499mn units, a 15.8pc increase from November but still 4.4pc below December 2023. The jump was attributable to a 59pc surge in multi-family home starts, which tend to be more volatile month-to-month. Single-family starts grew to a rate of 1.05mn units, up 3.3pc from November but still 2.6pc lower from the year before. Total permits never grew for two consecutive months or longer over the course of 2024, in large part due to volatility in multi-family construction. Single-family permits did grow each month since September, but each month remained below the prior year's rate from June onward. Both the inconsistent growth in overall permits as well as lagging year-over-year improvement in single-family permits have contributed to PVC buyers in the US market expecting stable but soft demand for the first half of 2025. Builder confidence rose by 1 point in January to 47, according to the National Association of Home Builder (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Builders hope the new year will bring a better economic and regulatory environment. But concerns remain that building material tariffs and costs, as well as a larger government deficit could put upward pressure on inflation and mortgage rates. Any number below 50 still indicates a bearish sentiment. The modest expectations from housing market participants come as 30-year mortgage rates rose above 7pc last week, as the Federal Reserve scaled back its expected interest rate cuts for 2025 to two in mid-December from four quarter point cuts penciled in in September. Both developments add further pressure to the housing market by raising the cost to buy homes as well as to build them. By Aaron May Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Braskem to invest $100mn in PE, PVC expansion

17/01/25

Braskem to invest $100mn in PE, PVC expansion

Sao Paulo, 17 January (Argus) — Brazilian petrochemical firm Braskem will invest R614mn ($100mn) to expand its current domestic production capacity by around 139,000t in the states of Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul, and Alagoas. The investment will cover seven projects related to polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other chemical products, the company said today. The expansion projects will create over 2,200 jobs in Brazil and help to better meet the domestic market's polymer and chemicals demand through domestic production. Braskem's PE production capacity in Brazil is 3.2mn metric tons (t)/y. PVC output capacity is 710,000t/y in Brazil at its units in Bahia and Alagoas. Fellow chemical producers Innova, OCQ and Unipar Carbocloro are also expected to announce investments today at a Brazilian chemical industry event at the Triunfo petrochemical hub in southern Brazil. The investments are in response to a special tax regimen (REIQ) that reduces the PIS/COFINS taxes for the chemical and petrochemical industries and establishes benefits for companies that expand their installed capacity and/or install new plants. Among the products covered by the new tax regimen are all polymers and their upstream inputs, such as naphtha, ethane, and propane. By Fred Fernandes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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