Industry News
Chemical Industry News
ICIS TTF Early Day assessments: 5 January 2026
- ICIS weekly buy/sell ratio signals more sells than buys for TTF front month, indicating bearish market; failure to hold above €26.27/MWh could disrupt very short-term rebound, trigger move lower...
Pakistan imposes preliminary ADD on PTA imports
SINGAPOR (ICIS)--Pakistan has imposed provisional anti-dumping duties (ADDs) levied on purified terephthalic acid (PTA) imports from China ranging from 2.63-9.50%, according to a document dated 4...
Plant status: S Korea’s Hanwha Total plans H2 Jan BD maintenance at Deasan
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Hanwha Total Energies Petrochemical Location: Daesan, South Korea Product: Butadiene (BD) Capacity (tonnes/year): 150,000 Event start: H2...
Plant status: Kuwait Styrene shuts SM line for scheduled maintenance
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Kuwait Styrene Location: Shuaiba, Kuwait Product: Styrene monomer (SM) Capacity (tonnes/year): 525,000 Event start: 1 January 2026 Event finish:...
Plant status: Taiwan’s FPC MMA unit in month-long planned maintenance from late Dec 2025
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Formosa Plastics Corp (FPC) Location: Mailiao, Taiwan Product: Methyl methacrylate (MMA) Capacity (tonnes/year): 98,000 Event start: Late...
Plant status: China’s ZPC shuts LDPE unit for maintenance
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical (ZPC) Location: Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China Product: Low density polyethylene (LDPE) Capacity (tonnes/year):...
Asia Dec factory output returns to growth; outlook brighter in 2026
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Asia’s manufacturing activity in December returned to growth after several months of contraction as new orders increased, boding well for a better 2026 although some headwinds...
Plant status: China’s Jinneng Science and Technology shuts PP Line 3
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Jinneng Science and Technology Location: Qingdao, China Product: Polypropylene (PP) Capacity (tonnes/year): 450,000 Event start: Late December...
Plant status: Thailand’s PTTGC eyes Feb restart for No 5 cracker
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: PTT Global Chemical Location: Map Ta Phut, Thailand Product: Ethylene, propylene Capacity (tonnes/year): 500,000 (ethylene), 260,000 (propylene)...
S Korea’s YNCC hikes December BD contracts
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--South Korea’s Yeochun NCC (YNCC) has settled its December butadiene (BD) contracts at $895/tonne, $105/tonne up from November, a company source said. YNCC’s contracts for...
FPCC lifts December BD contracts in Taiwan
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC) has set its December butadiene (BD) contract in Taiwan at $855/tonne, $50/tonne up from November, a company source said. Its November BD contract...
MOVES: GPCA secretary general Al Sadoun steps down; Aldhafeeri takes over
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association's (GPCA) secretary general Abdulwahab Al Sadoun will end his tenure after over 16 years, and Mater Aldhafeeri will take his place,...
Plant status: South Korea’s GS Caltex eyes restart of TDP unit
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: GS Caltex Location: Yeosu, South Korea Product: Toluene Capacity (tonnes/year): 460,000 Event start: 1H December 2025 Event finish: 2H January...
Breakthrough Start-Ups Honored at the ISC3 Innovation Challenge 2025
From cutting-edge chemical recycling and more sustainable polymers to renewable fuels, clean energy technologies, and low-carbon construction materials, the most promising innovators in Sustainable Chemistry pitched their ideas at the final of the ISC3 Innovation
Breakthrough in carbon-based battery materials improves safety, durability, and power
This research demonstrates a new way to make carbon-based battery materials much safer, longer lasting, and more powerful by fundamentally redesigning how fullerene molecules are connected. Today's lithium-ion batteries rely mainly on graphite, which limits
Atoms in the sunbath for a sustainable future
Cutting-edge research for a green future: As part of the MSCA COFUND project STAR (Sensing and Sensibility - Transcending Disciplines for a Responsible Future), Dr. Shanmugapriya Periyannan, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Siegen,
Plant status: China’s Shengyuanda shuts acetic acid plant
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Guangdong Shengyuanda Location: Guangdong, China Product: Acetic acid Capacity (tonnes/year): 1.5 million Event start: Around 2 January 2026...
China’s average MTBE plant run rate down to 59.5% on operational cut
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The average run rate of China’s methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) plants slightly dropped to 59.5% in the week ended 31 December 2025, with one plant running at a lower rate. A...
US December ’25 acrylate contracts unchanged month on month, demand remains soft
HOUSTON (ICIS)--December 2025 contract prices of glacial acrylic acid (GAA) and acrylate esters settled at a rollover. Contracts of GAA, butyl acrylate (butyl-A), ethyl acrylate (ethyl-A), methyl...
US December ’25 butac markets mostly stable with soft seasonal demand; price increase nomination emerges for January ’26
HOUSTON (ICIS)--US butyl acetate (butac) prices were mostly stable from November to December 2025. Although there was a 1 cent/lb ($22/tonne) drop on the high end of the contract range, prices were...