Dow to idle one cracker at Terneuzen: Update

Spanish Market: LPG, Petrochemicals
24/01/25

Adds butadiene capacity

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.

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14/11/25

Unipar sees lower 3Q profit on sluggish petchem cycle

Sao Paulo, 14 November (Argus) — Brazilian company Unipar Carbocloro, South America's largest producer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), reported a net profit of R107mn ($20.2mn) in the third quarter of 2025, 9pc below the same period last year. The results were primarily driven by a downturn in the petrochemical cycle and a persistent imbalance between global supply and demand. Unipar's average plant utilization rate remained at 80pc in Brazil and reached 67pc in Argentina, both impacted by temporary reductions in operations due to weak demand at certain times during the quarter. Chief executive Rodrigo Cannaval noted mounting pressure on Brazil's domestic PVC market from imports, particularly from Colombia and Egypt, alongside weak demand in Argentina amid President Javier Milei's macroeconomic reforms. International caustic soda and PVC prices decreased 11pc and 5pc, respectively, compared to the second quarter, curtailing Unipar's adjusted recurring earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of R266mn, which also suffered negative effects from currency appreciation in Brazil, even though the company's cash flow is mostly tied to the US dollar. Annually, adjusted recurring EBITDA increased 14pc, from R233mn, mostly due to higher volumes of caustic soda and chlorinated products, offsetting 15pc lower sales of PVC. PVC accounted for 40pc of the company's revenue in the quarter, followed by caustic soda (39pc) and chlorinated products (21pc). Additionally, Unipar's Capex should be significantly smaller next year, Cannaval said during the company's third-quarter earnings conference call, given that the modernization of the Cubatao plant is nearing completion. It is the company's most relevant ongoing project, he said, and affected both gross and net debt in the quarter. The Cubatao plant has production capacity of 355,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr of chlorine and 400,000 t/yr of caustic soda. Unipar introduced new PVC pricing after Brazil increased antidumping duties on US imports to 43.7pc from 8.2pc. But Cannaval said PVC demand in Brazil continues to lag amid elevated interest rates. The petrochemical firm posted net revenue of R1.2bn, 8pc below the same quarter the previous year. Unipar's net debt hit R1.5bn, 275pc above R459mn reported a year ago. By Isabela Mendes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Italian recyclers stop collecting bales from sorters

14/11/25

Italian recyclers stop collecting bales from sorters

London, 14 November (Argus) — A number of Italian recyclers in the Assorimap industry association have stopped collecting plastic waste from sorting centres, pending "urgent measures" to save the country's recycling sector, which it said has suffered an 87pc reduction in operating profits since 2021. Assorimap said this week that the Italian recycling industry is suffering from high energy costs compared with other parts of Europe, and "unsustainable competition from non-EU imports of virgin and recycled plastic at rock-bottom prices". It said that its members would shut down recycling plants in response to the crisis. The association is seeking measures including bringing forward mandatory recycled content in plastic packaging to 2027 — from 2030, as laid out under the EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) — as well as recognition of carbon credits for secondary raw material suppliers and increased control on the traceability of imports. An Italian recycler told Argus today that it had stopped collecting bales from sorting centres, and that it expected that others had begun to do the same, although some pickups may continue, particularly where transport had already been arranged. A source from a sorting centre confirmed that several large customers that had bought PET and HDPE bales from their company through the Italian auction system for November were declining to collect them. They said that, unless the situation is resolved, they would soon fill up their capacity for bale stocks and be compelled to stop taking in mixed plastic waste at the facility. Plastic waste from the Italian separate collection system is sorted into individual fractions, which are then sold to recyclers via a monthly auction. The Italian government recently announced that it would delay the implementation of a €450/t ($523/t) tax on single-use plastics — which would include exemptions for recycled plastics — to 1 January 2027, from 1 July 2026. Implementation of the tax has now been delayed eight times since an initial decree in 2020. By Will Collins Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU conditionally clears Adnoc-Covestro deal under FSR

14/11/25

EU conditionally clears Adnoc-Covestro deal under FSR

London, 14 November (Argus) — The European Commission has given conditional approval to plans by Abu Dhabi's state-owned Adnoc to acquire German chemicals group Covestro under the EU's foreign subsidies regulation (FSR). Adnoc, to address the commission's competition concerns relating to state subsidies, offered to adapt its articles of association to make sure they align with UAE insolvency law, thereby removing unlimited guarantee from the state. It will also share Covestro's sustainability patents with certain market participants. "Clear, predefined access to these patents will enable others to innovate and advance research in an area that is critical for Europe's future," commission executive vice president Teresa Ribera said. The commission said these commitments "will balance out the negative effects" of the €12bn ($13.9bn) Adnoc-Covestro deal in the EU market. During an in-depth investigation, the commission found that "Adnoc and Covestro received foreign subsidies from the UAE that are liable to distort the EU internal market." These subsidies include an unlimited state guarantee to Adnoc, as well as a committed capital increase from Adnoc into Covestro. "As a result, the merged entity could have engaged in more aggressive investment strategies than absent the subsidies, to the detriment of other market participants and competitive conditions in the internal market," the commission said. The commission gave the green light to the acquisition in May, but decided to launch an in-depth probe in July under the FSR because of competition concerns relating to state subsidies. The FSR began in July 2023 and allows the commission to address distortion caused by foreign subsidies as a way of ensuring a laying playing field for all companies in the EU market. By Monicca Egoy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU imposes provisional ADD on China adipic acid imports

14/11/25

EU imposes provisional ADD on China adipic acid imports

London, 14 November (Argus) — The European Commission has imposed provisional anti-dumping duties as high as 46.8pc on adipic acid imports from China. The decision followed an investigation launched in March after complaints from European producers Lanxess and Radici Chimica. The probe found the European industry "suffered material injury caused by the dumped imports" from China, the commission said. Chongqing Huafon Chemical and Tangshan Zhonghao Chemical face duties of 28.6pc and 46.8pc, respectively. "Other co-operating companies" — including China Pingmei Shenma Energy Chemical Group, Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) and Shandong Hualu-Hengsheng Chemical — will pay duties of 32pc, the commission said. All other adipic acid imports from China will be charged at 46.8pc. Chinese producers "adopted an extremely aggressive pricing policy" that heavily undercut European prices and "eroded the ability of [domestic producers] to set prices that would cover its cost of production," the commission said. China-origin adipic acid imports into the EU rose by 33pc during the July 2023-June 2024 investigation period, the commission said. Their share of the domestic market climbed to 35.6pc from 19.4pc in 2021, while the European industry's share fell to 58.3pc from 77.2pc. Germany's BASF said in August it will end adipic acid production at its Ludwigshafen site this year. Adipic acid, which falls under CN code 29171200, is used in a wide range of applications, mainly the production of nylon 6,6, adhesives, sealants, plasticisers and polyurethanes. By Monicca Egoy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US LPG loses market share in Brazil

13/11/25

US LPG loses market share in Brazil

Houston, 13 November (Argus) — US LPG suppliers lost market share in Brazil to imports from Argentina despite a decline in US Gulf coast propane and butane prices. Brazil imported 982,240t of LPG year-to-date October this year, Vortexa data shows. Argentinian supplies comprised 49.5pc of Brazil's imports at 486,400t for the 10-month period, up 17.8 percentage points from a year earlier. Brazil took 47.2pc of its LPG from the US at 463,700t year-to-date October, down by 18.3 percentage points from the same period a year earlier. Brazil's shift toward Argentinian-sourced LPG comes even as prices decreased for full-propane and split butane/propane cargoes loading at the US Gulf coast. US propane export cargo prices slid to $429.1/t year-to-date October this year, from $487.7/t in the same months a year earlier. US split butane/propane loaders dipped to $442.8/t from $499.2/t in the same time period. Brazil's shift away from lower priced US supplies suggests Argentinian cargoes may be more price competitive. Part of the price competitiveness may stem from more economically favorable freight rates for short-haul distances given Argentina's geographical advantage that allows Brazil to offtake Argentina's growing LPG supplies. Brazil may continue to import more LPG from neighboring Argentina as domestic demand there is expected to grow between 5-8pc with the government's incoming Gas do Povo subsidy scheme, according to LPG association Sindigas president Sergio Bandeira de Mello. The subsidy scheme will distribute vouchers for free LPG cylinders to more than 15mn qualifying low-income homes in remote areas of Brazil in an effort to push families away from cooking with firewood and charcoal. The country's four main distributors — Copa Energia, Nacional Gas, Supergasbras and Ultragaz — account for nearly 90pc of the domestic market and have already confirmed that demand under the program will be met by LPG imports. This will come from countries other than the US, most notably from nearby Argentina. By Giovann Rosales Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Dow to idle one cracker at Terneuzen: Update

Related news posts

Unipar sees lower 3Q profit on sluggish petchem cycle

Unipar sees lower 3Q profit on sluggish petchem cycle

Italian recyclers stop collecting bales from sorters

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EU conditionally clears Adnoc-Covestro deal under FSR

EU conditionally clears Adnoc-Covestro deal under FSR

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US LPG loses market share in Brazil

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