Factbox-Closures, disposals reshaping the global petrochemical sector
The European Union is being hit the hardest by the rationalisation, while the United States and the Middle East are considered relatively immune. Petrochemical makers in Asia are also reducing capacity but at a slower pace compared with the EU.
Here is a list of some of the major closures, divestment and portfolio reviews:
** U.S.-based LyondellBasell in June said it had started exclusive talks to sell four olefin and polyolefin plants in Europe to Munich-based investment firm AEQUITA.
The sites to be sold are in France, Germany, Britain and Spain. The company has also said it is evaluating options for its factories in the Netherlands and Italy.
** U.S. chemical giant Dow Inc said at the beginning of July it would shut down three upstream sites in Europe: an ethylene cracker in Böhlen, Germany and chlor-alkali & vinyl assets in Schkopau, Germany, and its siloxanes plant in Barry, Britain. The company also announced in January that it would idle a cracker in the Netherlands.
** U.S. oil major ExxonMobil said last year it would shut down the steam cracker and close chemical production at Gravenchon in France, adding that the site had lost more than 500 million euros ($582.75 million) since 2018 and remains uncompetitive.
** British oil company Shell in April completed the sale of its energy and chemicals park in Singapore, which includes a refinery, an ethylene cracker and other petrochemical assets.
The group's top executives told a post-results conference call in May that the group was undertaking a review of its chemical business, including in Europe. Shell hired Morgan Stanley to conduct the strategic review of its chemicals operations in Europe and the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported in March, citing sources.
** BP said in February it was looking for potential buyers for its Ruhr Oel refinery, cracker and downstream assets at Gelsenkirchen in Germany.
** French oil major TotalEnergies said in April it would shut its oldest steam cracker in Antwerp, Belgium, by end-2027, citing a "significant surplus of ethylene expected in Europe".
** Eni will complete the closure of Italy's two last steam crackers by the end of this year. One is in Brindisi, Apulia, and the second in Priolo, Sicily. It also closed a polyethylene plant in Ragusa, Sicily.
** Poland's Orlen said at the end of 2024 it would scale back plans for its olefins petrochemical project, pushing back output until at least 2030 and aiming to cut its estimated cost by as much as a third.
** U.S. chemical group Huntsman Corp announced the closure of its polyurethanes facility in Deggendorf, Germany, and the reduction of some of its other sites and facilities around Europe.
The company will close a facility located in Moers, Germany. The closure is expected to be complete by the end of the current quarter.
** Japan's largest oil refiner, Eneos, said in February that it would consider partially halting an ethylene production facility at its Kawasaki refinery at the end of 2027 due to falling demand. It said in March that it would gradually halt production of lubricants and some petroleum products at its Yokohama plant near Tokyo by March 2028, but will consider relocating lubricants' output to other facilities.
** Saudi Petrochemical Group SABIC said last year it planned to permanently shut one of its two naphtha-fed crackers at its plant in Geleen, the Netherlands.
($1 = 0.8580 euros)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says Japan will invest $550 billion in US at his direction. It may not be a sure thing
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is bragging that Japan has given him, as part of a new trade framework, $550 billion to invest in the United States. It's an astonishing figure, but still subject to negotiation and perhaps not the sure thing he's portraying. "Japan is putting up $550 billion in order to lower their tariffs a little bit," Trump said Thursday. 'They put up, as you could call it, seed money. Let's call it seed money.' He said 90% of any profits from the money invested would go to the U.S. even if Japan had put up the funds. 'It's not a loan or anything, it's a signing bonus,' the Republican president said, on the trade framework that lowered his threatened tariff from 25% to 15%, including on autos. A White House official said the terms are being negotiated and nothing has been formalized in writing. The official, who insisted on anonymity to detail the terms of the talks, suggested the goal was for the $550 billion fund to make investments at Trump's direction. The sum is significant: It would represent more than 10% of Japan's entire gross domestic product. The Japan External Trade Organization estimates that direct investment into the U.S. economy topped $780 billion in 2023. It is unclear the degree to which the $550 billion could represent new investment or flow into existing investment plans. What the trade framework announced Tuesday has achieved is a major talking point for the Trump administration. The president has claimed to have brought trillions of dollars in new investment into the U.S., though the impact of those commitments have yet to appear in the economic data for jobs, construction spending or manufacturing output. The framework also enabled Trump to say other countries are agreeing to have their goods taxed, even if some of the cost of those taxes are ultimately passed along to U.S. consumers. On the $550 billion, Japan's Cabinet Office said it involves the credit facility of state-affiliated financial institutions, such as Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Further details would be decided based on the progress of the investment deals. Japanese trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, upon returning to Japan, did not discuss the terms of the $550 billion investment. Akazawa said he believes a written joint statement is necessary, at least on working levels, to avoid differences. He is not thinking about a legally binding trade pact. The U.S. apparently released its version of the deal while Japanese officials were on their return flight home. 'If we find differences of understanding, we may have to point them out and say 'that's not what we discussed,'' Akazawa said. The U.S. administration said the fund would be invested in critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, computer chips and shipbuilding, among other industries. It has said Japan will also buy 100 airplanes from Boeing and rice from U.S. farmers as part of the framework, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said would be evaluated every three months. 'And if the president is unhappy, then they will boomerang back to the 25% tariff rates, both on cars and the rest of their products. And I can tell you that I think at 25, especially in cars, the Japanese economy doesn't work,' Bessent told Fox News' 'The Ingraham Angle.' Akazawa denied that Bessent's quarterly review was part of the negotiations. 'In my past eight trips to the United States during which I held talks with the president and the ministers," Akazawa said. 'I have no recollection of discussing how we ensure the implementation of the latest agreement between Japan and the United States.' He said it would cause major disruptions to the economy and administrative processes if the rates first rise to 25% as scheduled on Aug. 1 and then drop to 15%. 'We definitely want to avoid that and I believe that is the understanding shared by the U.S. side,' he said. On buying U.S. rice, Japanese officials have said they have no plans to raise the current 770,000-ton 'minimum access' cap to import more from America. Agricultural Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan will decide whether to increase U.S. rice imports and that Japan is not committed to a fixed quota. Trump's commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, has suggested that the Japanese agreement is putting pressure on other countries such as South Korea to strike deals with the U.S. Trump, who is traveling in Scotland, plans to meet on Sundayv with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss trade. 'Whatever Donald Trump wants to build, the Japanese will finance it for him,' Lutnick said Thursday on CNBC. 'Pretty amazing.' ___ Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo. Josh Boak And Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Associated Press
17 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Trump says Japan will invest $550 billion in US at his direction. It may not be a sure thing
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is bragging that Japan has given him, as part of a new trade framework, $550 billion to invest in the United States. It's an astonishing figure, but still subject to negotiation and perhaps not the sure thing he's portraying. 'Japan is putting up $550 billion in order to lower their tariffs a little bit,' Trump said Thursday. 'They put up, as you could call it, seed money. Let's call it seed money.' He said 90% of any profits from the money invested would go to the U.S. even if Japan had put up the funds. 'It's not a loan or anything, it's a signing bonus,' the Republican president said, on the trade framework that lowered his threatened tariff from 25% to 15%, including on autos. A White House official said the terms are being negotiated and nothing has been formalized in writing. The official, who insisted on anonymity to detail the terms of the talks, suggested the goal was for the $550 billion fund to make investments at Trump's direction. The sum is significant: It would represent more than 10% of Japan's entire gross domestic product. The Japan External Trade Organization estimates that direct investment into the U.S. economy topped $780 billion in 2023. It is unclear the degree to which the $550 billion could represent new investment or flow into existing investment plans. What the trade framework announced Tuesday has achieved is a major talking point for the Trump administration. The president has claimed to have brought trillions of dollars in new investment into the U.S., though the impact of those commitments have yet to appear in the economic data for jobs, construction spending or manufacturing output. The framework also enabled Trump to say other countries are agreeing to have their goods taxed, even if some of the cost of those taxes are ultimately passed along to U.S. consumers. On the $550 billion, Japan's Cabinet Office said it involves the credit facility of state-affiliated financial institutions, such as Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Further details would be decided based on the progress of the investment deals. Japanese trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, upon returning to Japan, did not discuss the terms of the $550 billion investment. Akazawa said he believes a written joint statement is necessary, at least on working levels, to avoid differences. He is not thinking about a legally binding trade pact. The U.S. apparently released its version of the deal while Japanese officials were on their return flight home. 'If we find differences of understanding, we may have to point them out and say 'that's not what we discussed,'' Akazawa said. The U.S. administration said the fund would be invested in critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, computer chips and shipbuilding, among other industries. It has said Japan will also buy 100 airplanes from Boeing and rice from U.S. farmers as part of the framework, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said would be evaluated every three months. 'And if the president is unhappy, then they will boomerang back to the 25% tariff rates, both on cars and the rest of their products. And I can tell you that I think at 25, especially in cars, the Japanese economy doesn't work,' Bessent told Fox News' 'The Ingraham Angle.' Akazawa denied that Bessent's quarterly review was part of the negotiations. 'In my past eight trips to the United States during which I held talks with the president and the ministers,' Akazawa said. 'I have no recollection of discussing how we ensure the implementation of the latest agreement between Japan and the United States.' He said it would cause major disruptions to the economy and administrative processes if the rates first rise to 25% as scheduled on Aug. 1 and then drop to 15%. 'We definitely want to avoid that and I believe that is the understanding shared by the U.S. side,' he said. On buying U.S. rice, Japanese officials have said they have no plans to raise the current 770,000-ton 'minimum access' cap to import more from America. Agricultural Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan will decide whether to increase U.S. rice imports and that Japan is not committed to a fixed quota. Trump's commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, has suggested that the Japanese agreement is putting pressure on other countries such as South Korea to strike deals with the U.S. Trump, who is traveling in Scotland, plans to meet on Sundayv with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss trade. 'Whatever Donald Trump wants to build, the Japanese will finance it for him,' Lutnick said Thursday on CNBC. 'Pretty amazing.' ___ Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.
Forbes
17 minutes ago
- Forbes
From Franchisee To Chairman: Friendly's Operator Acquires Brix Holdings
NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES - 2007/05/19: Friendly's Ice Cream store exterior. (Photo by John ... More Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images) A shift is happening in the franchise world. Amol Kohli, who got his start as a teenager bussing tables at Friendly's, now owns one of the most recognizable franchise holding companies in the restaurant industry. Through his firm, Legacy Brands International, Kohli has acquired Brix Holdings. The Dallas-based company manages over 250 restaurant locations, including familiar brands such as Red Mango, Orange Leaf, Clean Juice, and Smoothie Factory and Kitchen. This is not just another acquisition. It marks a transition in how leadership shows up in franchising. Kohli brings something different. He has not come from the private equity world or a Wall Street office. His perspective comes from working in the business, not just owning it. A Practical Approach to Executive Leadership Kohli knows what it means to sweep floors, run a shift, and manage a team on a busy Saturday night. That hands-on experience has shaped his leadership style. Today, as Chairman of Legacy Brands International, he brings those insights to the table as the company looks toward the future. Brix Holdings will continue operating from its Dallas headquarters. Sherif Mityas, a seasoned executive, remains in his role as CEO, providing continuity during the transition of ownership. Former owner JAMCO Interests still maintains a financial interest, suggesting long-term confidence in the new leadership. Veteran franchising leader John Antioco praised Kohli for his operator-first mindset and vision for scaling brands while maintaining a focus on the franchisee. Kohli did not inherit his place at the top. He earned it. At fifteen, he worked the floor at a Friendly's in New Jersey. Over time, he gained a thorough understanding of the operations. He served customers, learned how to read a profit and loss report, and figured out how to keep staff motivated. He eventually became a franchise owner. Today, he operates more than thirty Friendly's restaurants across the eastern United States. That journey, built step by step, gives him a deep understanding of what franchisees face every day. This year, Friendly's turns ninety. While many legacy brands fade with age, Friendly's is gaining traction once again. According to reports from Brix Holdings, customer interest is growing. In the first quarter of 2025, the company signed eight new franchise agreements. Additional deals are underway, and several new locations are already being built. Kohli has his sights set on growth markets like Georgia, Texas, and the Carolinas. These regions have strong demographics and rising interest in fast-casual dining. He plans to support franchisees more effectively, increase brand awareness, and create value through strategic expansion. Kohli's story is not an isolated one. Across the restaurant sector, more franchisees are moving from operators to brand owners. They are no longer just running units. They are stepping into leadership roles that once belonged to investors and executives with little field experience. This shift brings operational knowledge into strategic planning. It creates leadership teams that understand both vision and execution. Kohli is part of that movement. His decisions are informed by years of working closely with employees and guests. The focus now is on building a strong foundation for growth. Kohli plans to invest in support systems that help franchisees thrive. That includes better training, more responsive infrastructure, and clear brand direction. While Friendly's remains a centerpiece of the portfolio, Kohli is also exploring ways to develop and acquire additional concepts that align with the company's core values. The acquisition marks the beginning of a new chapter for Brix Holdings. With experienced leadership and capital to invest, the company is positioned to grow responsibly and effectively. Kohli's path from server to owner reflects something rare in business. It proves that deep involvement, hard work, and patience can lead to leadership at the highest level. His journey is not typical, but it is becoming more common as franchisees take greater ownership of the systems they helped build.
