Industry News
Chemical Industry News
OUTLOOK ’26: Europe rPET market seeing positive signs after a tough year
LONDON (ICIS)--Europe’s recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) market will face challenges from lower-priced flake and food-grade pellet (FGP) imports, substitution risk to virgin PET and the...
Traders disagree on possible flattening of TTF Summer-Winter ’26 spread
LONDON (ICIS)--Dutch TTF Summer and Winter ’26 prices could converge if European gas stocks deplete quicker than expected while LNG glut expectations pressure the front winter. Lower risk of...
MARGINS: Europe cracker margins rise across all operators on lower feedstock costs
LONDON (ICIS)--Cracker margins in Europe rose week on week on the back of lower feedstock costs, ICIS Margin Analysis showed on Monday. However, softer co-product credits softened the rise. In the...
Beijing steps in to curb China sulphuric acid exports; cap domestic prices
LONDON (ICIS)--China’s government has ordered a reduction in sulphuric acid exports, directing acid-producing companies to focus on the nation’s domestic requirements - and threatening...
OUTLOOK ’26: Europe capro market to face stable, low downstream demand
LONDON (ICIS)--The European caprolactam (capro) market faces a challenging landscape in 2026, shaped by ongoing weak downstream demand, balanced-to-ample supply and production cost pressures. No...
LNG SPOTNIGHT: Strong LNG, mild weather cap global gas prices ahead of holiday lull
LONDON (ICIS)--European gas and East Asian spot LNG prices continued to decline in December, as strong global LNG supply and mild weather eased the market balance. Prices are lower despite...
Europe MMA contracts stable for December despite better than expected demand
LONDON (ICIS)--The Europe methyl methacrylate (MMA) market saw the December freely negotiated contract price settle at a rollover last week. The Q4 contract price settled with prices stable-to-soft,...
INSIDE STORY: Year in review – US LNG dominates the scene in 2025
LONDON (ICIS)--2025 was marked by a record number of final investment decisions (FIDs) on US LNG projects as outright US LNG production hit new record levels. The EU moved forward timelines to end...
Germany’s offshore protection law likely to cap upside for domestic gas output, keeping THE structurally import-dependent
FRANKFURT (ICIS)--Germany’s draft law to restrict raw material extraction in marine protected areas may effectively close the door on new offshore oil and gas projects in Exclusive Economic Zone...
Germany weighs scrapping gas storage-fill mandates as study flags market distortion
FRANKFURT (ICIS)--Germany is considering a redesign of its gas-storage regime after a ministry-commissioned Frontier Economics evaluation recommended abolishing national storage filling mandates and...
ICE’s planned switch to 22-hour TTF trading spurs concerns of more volatility, longer working hours
By Brendan A'Hearn LONDON (ICIS)--The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is working to launch 22-hour trading across the NBP, TTF, and German power, ICE confirmed in a press release on 15 December. ICE...
Italy should look at long-term deals to lower gas prices – Snam
MILAN (ICIS)--Italy should look at long-term contracts to secure gas supply and lower the wholesale price regardless of the introduction of the PSV-TTF price cap, Italian gas transmission system...
Croatia eyes gas infrastructure expansion, supporting neighboring hubs
LONDON (ICIS)---Croatia is planning new pipeline connections with neighbouring countries, growing domestic production, according to its latest proposal of 10-year development plan (TYDP) of the gas...
CEE gas capacity bookings for January fall compared to December as Poland may become dominant supply route to Ukraine
By Brendan A'Hearn LONDON (ICIS)--Gas capacity bookings for January across central and eastern Europe (CEE) generally fell compared to the high levels seen for December, but a shift in regional...
EU methane emissions rules must not risk security of supply, ministers say
LONDON (ICIS)--EU energy ministers underlined the need to ensure the EU’s methane regulation does not harm the bloc’s security of supply at a summit in Brussels on 15 December. The rules, aimed...
Traders see loopholes, limited near-term impact in EU Russian gas phaseout
LONDON (ICIS)--Market participants polled by ICIS agree that the proposed phaseout of Russian gas is already priced into European markets, with limited short-term impact although some expect regional...
Stiffest organic crystals reported to date discovered in well-known material
Mucic acid crystals owe their rigidity to a dense network of intermolecular hydrogen bonds
Unveiling non-thermal catalytic origin of direct current-promoted catalysis for energy-efficient transformation of greenhouse gases to valuable chemicals
Catalytic dry reforming of methane (DRM) is a key reaction for the sustainable utilization of major greenhouse gases, CO 2 and CH 4 . However, conventional DRM often suffers from severe catalyst deactivation due to
NYMEX: US gas futures gain despite strong dry gas production and warmer outlook
Front-month US natural gas futures edged up on 19 December, despite warmer temperatures The January 2026 Henry Hub contract on NYMEX settled at $3.984/MMBtu, up nearly 2% from the previous session...
Asia-US container rates mixed, will end year down by almost 50% from January
HOUSTON (ICIS)--Rates for shipping containers from east Asia and China to the US will end the year down by almost 50% from the first of the year as demand has softened and capacity has increased....