Factbox: Global petrochemical firms shape up in oversupply crisis

SUMITOMO CHEMICAL

09/08/2024 03:02

By Mohi Narayan and Joyce Lee
       NEW DELHI, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Petrochemical producers in
Europe and Asia are in survival mode as years of capacity
build-up in top market China and high energy costs in Europe
have depressed margins for three consecutive years, forcing
firms to consolidate.
    Here's a look at consolidation moves by major producers
sumitacross the globe.
    
    EXXON MOBIL  XOM.N 
    ExxonMobil Chemical France announced in April it would shut
down the steam cracker and close chemical production at
Gravenchon this year, adding that the site has lost more than
500 million euros since 2018 and remains uncompetitive.
    
    FORMOSA PETROCHEMICAL  6505.TW 
    The Taiwanese petrochemical giant has been operating only
one out its three naphtha crackers for a year. The company has
kept the other two crackers offline due to poor demand and
unhealthy margins, spokesperson KY Lin said.
    The company is not looking to make any new investments in
the near term due to challenging market conditions, a company
official said.  
        
    INEOS  E.UL  
    The UK-based company acquired TotalEnergies' 50% share of
the Naphtachimie, Appryl, Gexaro businesses in April, making
Ineos the sole owner of the units at Lavera in southern France.
    The deal includes a 720,000 metric ton per year (tpy) steam
cracker, 270,000 tpy of aromatics and 300,000 tpy of
polypropylene production capacity.
    
    LYONDELLBASELL  LYB.N  
    The U.S.-based producer of plastics raw materials said in
May it has launched a strategic review of the European assets of
two of its business units. The company sold its Bayport, Texas
ethylene oxide unit and associated business to chemical maker
INEOS Oxide for $700 million in May.
    
    MITSUI CHEMICALS  4183.T 
    The Japanese firm announced in April its decision to close
the phenol plant at its Ichihara Works by fiscal year 2026, it
said in a statement.
    In October 2024, it will shut its polyethylene terephthalate
(PET) plant at its Iwakuni-Ohtake Works. In Chiba, the company
has reached an agreement with Idemitsu Kosan to consider
aggregating ethylene equipment, it said in annual results
released in May.
    It plans to downsize Omuta Work's toluene diisocyanate (TDI)
plant by fiscal year 2025 and is considering shutting Anegasaki
plant by 2027.
   
    PENGERANG PETROCHEMICAL CO (PREFCHEM)
    The 50-50 joint venture between Petronas and Saudi Aramco
 2222.SE  has kept its 1.2 million tons per year naphtha cracker
shut since it was closed for maintenance earlier this year. The
office of the chief executive officer said they have no update
on the restart of the cracker.
    
    SAUDI BASIC INDUSTRIES CORP (SABIC)  2010.SE 
    SABIC, 70% owned by oil giant Aramco  2223.SE , announced in
April plans to permanently shut the No. 3 naphtha-fed cracker at
its plant in Geleen, the Netherlands after routine maintenance
at the site.
    
    SHELL  SHEL.L  
    The European energy major in May sold its refinery and
petrochemical assets in Singapore, Asia's main oil hub, to a
joint venture between Indonesian chemicals firm Chandra Asri and
Swiss miner and commodities trader Glencore  GLEN.L .
    The sale is part of Shell CEO Wael Sawan's plan to reduce
the company's carbon footprint and focus its operations on the
most profitable businesses.
    
    SUMITOMO CHEMICAL  4005.T 
    Saudi Aramco  2223.SE  has agreed to buy from Japan's
Sumitomo Chemical a 22.5% stake in their petrochemical joint
venture Petro Rabigh  2380.SE  for $702 million, the companies
said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
    The deal shrinks Sumitomo Chemical's stake in the joint
venture to 15% while increasing Aramco's share to 60%. 

 (Reporting by Mohi Narayan, Joyce Lee and Haridas; Editing by
Florence Tan and Sonali Paul)
 ((Mohi.Narayan@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/_mohi_;))