LG Chem’s 900,000-ton-per-year Yeosu No. 2 Naphtha Cracking Center (NCC No. 2), which has been shut down for over six months since March 23, is scheduled to restart on October 12, the company announced in a regulatory filing on October 8.

Specialty materials solutions provider Trinseo and its European affiliates recently announced a price increase for all grades of their polystyrene (PS), ABS, and SAN resins. The adjustment will take effect on October 1, 2026, or in accordance with existing contract terms. The specific price increases are as follows: STYRON™ polystyrene resin: €310 per tonne; MAGNUM™ ABS resin: €210 per tonne; TYRIL™ SAN resin: €230 per tonne.

American chemical giantWestlake Corporation has announced the permanent closure of its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in Cologne, Germany, with all production operations expected to cease by the first quarter of 2027.The Cologne plant has an annual PVC production capacity of approximately 165,000 metric tons and employs around 120 shop-floor workers locally. In connection with this, the company has recorded a total pre-tax charge of approximately $205 million, comprising roughly $100 million in cash restructuring expenses and about $105 million in non-cash impairments of fixed assets, which will be recognized in its financial statements in phases over 2026 and 2027.

Recently, Yuntianhua Petrochemical achieved a key technological breakthrough, marking a milestone in the global polyolefin industry: it successfully conducted trial production of medical-grade metallocene polypropylene using the Unipol gas-phase process for the first time worldwide. This breakthrough effectively resolves long-standing process compatibility challenges in the industry and provides a mature and viable pathway for advancing China’s polyolefin sector toward high-end applications and domestic substitution of critical new materials.

Recently, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India initiated an anti-circumvention investigation into the anti-dumping case concerning CPVC originating from or imported from China and South Korea. The Ministry announced that, in response to applications submitted by Indian domestic companies DCW Limited, Epigral Limited, and Lubrizol Advanced Materials India Private Limited, it would launch an anti-circumvention investigation regarding chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), whether or not further processed into compound, originating from or imported from China and South Korea. The investigation will examine whether Chinese products involved are being exported to India through Malaysian exporter Sasia Chlorine Polymers Sdn. Bhd., Japanese exporter EBC Corporation, and Thai exporter Sekisui Specialty Chemicals (Thailand) Co., Ltd., in order to circumvent existing anti-dumping duties. This investigation is limited to the products exported by the aforementioned three exporters from these three countries.

In mid-September, U.S. polyethylene (PE) spot export prices rose significantly as concentrated purchasing by Asian buyers opened up cross-regional arbitrage opportunities. According to assessments by Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, the Houston price for U.S. high-density polyethylene (HDPE) blow-molding grade reached $1,135 per metric ton on September 14, an increase of $110 from September 1. Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) prices rose by $66 and $33 per metric ton, respectively. However, the core driver of this price surge was not changes in domestic U.S. supply and demand, but rather a shift in global trade flows. Market participants believe that while the recent rise in U.S. PE export prices is a short-term signal amid supply disruptions, it still presents a valuable opportunity for the U.S. PE industry to penetrate the Asian market.

CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Company Limited(CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals, CSPC)Production at its polyethylene (PE) facilities has been suspended.CNOOC and Shell’s joint venture, located in the Daya Bay Petrochemical Zone in Huizhou, Guangdong, is a major polyethylene production base in China. Its HDPE and LLDPE products are widely supplied to downstream plastic markets in South China and across the country. The current shutdown of its PE unit will directly affect the domestic spot supply of polyethylene, with the market closely monitoring the reasons for the outage, the maintenance schedule, and the expected restart date.

ExxonMobil’s offers for China’s main ports rose this week: the mainstream duty-free Singapore-origin metallocene grade was quoted at $1,395 per ton for September shipment. Actual transactions are subject to firm deals.

山东联泓一期、山东鲁西MTO装置预计将于8月中下旬、8月底附近逐步恢复重启。

On August 17, Jiangsu Deway New Materials Co., Ltd.'s holding subsidiary, Jiangsu Derong Polymer Materials Co., Ltd., officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Beijing Lianke New Materials Co., Ltd. A team of technical experts from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, including Researcher Zhang Jun and Researcher Dong Jinyong, will collaborate with Deway New Materials.The signing ceremony was attended by key management and technical teams from both parties, including representative Qiu Guowen from the controlling shareholder, Wang Xingning, Director of Polymer Products at Derun, Fan Jun, Senior Vice President of Qulian Chuangye Group, and Yang Lifang, General Manager of Lianke New Materials, marking a key step in the localization and high-end development of polypropylene cable materials.

今年8月，由扬子石化-巴斯夫有限责任公司(BYC)生产的首款零产品碳足迹(ZeroPCF)EVA产品正式推向市场。这也是巴斯夫石油化学品C2产业链的核心重点产品，标志着巴斯夫在绿色发展征程上迈出了坚实一步，也为下游客户的低碳转型注入了全新动力。

8月18日，印度救济总局（DGTR）发布公告，正式对原产于或出口自中国的“聚氯乙烯悬浮树脂”发起反补贴调查立案，万华化学、君正化工、新疆天业、中泰化学、天津渤化等44家中国企业被列入名单。这是继2025年印度对进口PVC反倾销调查中途搁置、BIS认证政策推迟落地之后，印度针对中国PVC产品祭出的又一张“贸易牌”。

On August 17, the Korea Economic Daily, citing anonymous government officials, reported that Lotte Chemical has disclosed plans to sell its overseas basic chemical business to creditors and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea, involving assets in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United States. The company is currently assessing market conditions and seeking potential buyers.

SadaraThe financial report for the first half of 2026 has been released: sales revenue declined by 49.639% year-on-year to 2.5598 billion Saudi Riyals (approximately 682 million USD), compared to 5.083 billion Saudi Riyals (approximately 1.354 billion USD) in the same period last year. The main reason was a temporary production halt that limited the supply of finished products, causing a significant drop in sales volume. Although the average selling price of the company’s product portfolio increased and profit margins improved significantly, sales revenue still declined year-on-year. Net loss widened by 39.375% year-on-year to 3.531 billion Saudi Riyals (approximately 940 million USD), compared to a net loss of 2.533 billion Saudi Riyals (approximately 675 million USD) in the same period last year, mainly due to lower sales volume and the adverse impact of asset impairment provisions on other gains and losses. It is reported that Sadara is a joint venture between Saudi Arabia’s national oil giant Aramco and the American chemical company Dow.

Shaanxi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Construction Machinery") issued a trading suspension announcement regarding the planning of major matters and related-party transactions. In the announcement, Construction Machinery stated that it received the "Notice on the Project Approval for the Merger and Restructuring of Pucheng Clean Energy Company by Shaanxi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd." from its controlling shareholder Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Shaanxi Coal Group"). The project involves the company acquiring 100% equity of Pucheng Clean Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Pucheng Clean Energy Company") through a combination of share issuance and cash payment, and simultaneously raising supporting funds. Pucheng Clean Energy Company mainly engages in the production and sales of polyolefin products such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

Recently, the People’s Government of Uxin Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, issued the “Public Notice on Social Stability Risk Assessment for the 1 Million Tons/Year Ethane and Light Hydrocarbon-to-Ethylene Project of Hohhot Petrochemical Company.” According to publicly available preliminary project information, the project plans to newly build: a 1 million tons/year ethylene unit (including a PSA unit), a 300,000 tons/year HDPE unit, two 400,000 tons/year FDPE units, a 250,000 tons/year PP unit, a 50,000 tons/year butadiene extraction unit, a 100,000 tons/year pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation unit, and a 200,000 tons/year by-product consumption co-production unit. Supporting utility and auxiliary facilities, storage and transportation works, as well as a dedicated railway spur line, will be constructed concurrently.

Report on August 11: Rongsheng Petrochemical's 1.6 million tons per year ABS unit has a planned production reduction for August, with an expected load reduction to 60-70% operation. Previously, the unit was operating at about 80% capacity.

Recently, the transparent injection molding grade polypropylene product PPR-MT26, independently developed by Tianjin Petrochemical, passed the national medical polypropylene certification test, making it the company's first product to receive medical plastic certification. This lays the foundation for entering the medical device field and exploring new markets. The medical device industry has extremely strict requirements for the selection of plastic raw materials. The PPR-MT26 product can be applied in disposable medical devices, diagnostic consumables, and drug delivery systems, featuring high technical added value. Tianjin Petrochemical has introduced higher-level clean production standards and online monitoring systems, employing multi-stage precision filtration, closed automated transportation, and specialized clean packaging technology to elevate the product purity to medical-grade levels.

Recently, CNPC Guangxi Petrochemical’s 1.2 million tonnes/year ethylene unit successfully completed a 72-hour full-process, full-load performance test, achieving uninterrupted operation for 72 hours at 100% full load across the entire process. The 1.2 million tonnes/year ethylene unit adopts CNPC’s independently developed large-scale ethylene complete-process technology, supported by key domestically produced equipment including the localized PEC-21 palladium-based catalyst and core machinery with dual-frequency converter seamless switching. The electric-driven ethylene refrigeration compressor achieved full-load operation for the first time, with the unit running in good condition, providing valuable data support for subsequent optimization and regulation of electric-driven units.

In its Q2 financial report, INEOS Group announced its official withdrawal from the petrochemical joint venture Sinopec INEOS (Tianjin) Petrochemical Co., Ltd. with Sinopec in Tianjin. The joint venture, established in 2023 with a 50:50 share ratio, came to an end in less than three years. According to the exit agreement, INEOS will pay Sinopec $120 million, to be paid in equal installments over 24 months starting in March 2027. The investment in the joint venture and financial liabilities amounting to approximately €575.7 million, which INEOS had previously confirmed on its books, have been completely derecognized. INEOS first revealed its intention to exit in November 2025.