Industry News
Chemical Industry News
BLOG: China POE expansion: What it means for global chemicals strategy
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Click here to see the latest blog post on Asian Chemical Connections by John Richardson: China’s polyolefin elastomers (POE) market is undergoing a dramatic shift. Once a niche,...
Plant status: China’s Shandong Befar Group to shut ECH units in early December
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Shandong Befar Group Location: Binzhou, China Product: Epichlorohydrin (ECH) Capacity (tonnes/year): 25,000 + 25,000 + 25,000 Event start:...
Merck Inaugurates Semiconductor Solutions Site in Taiwan to Support AI Growth
New site scales the fast-growing Thin Films business of Merck to meet accelerating AI demand after a record third quarter 150,000 m 2 site to produce critical materials for next generation of AI chips, creating
WACKER strengthens silicone business in China with new technology center for specialty silanes
To strengthen its specialties business, German chemical company WACKER and Chinese specialty silane producer and joint-venture partner SICO Performance Material have opened a new application development center for organofunctional silanes in Jining, China. The approx.
New highly efficient material turns motion into power – without toxic lead
Scientists have developed a new material that converts motion into electricity (piezoelectricity) with greater efficiency and without using toxic lead -paving the way for a new generation of devices that we use in everyday life.
Plant status: Japan’s Crasus continues to run VAM unit at reduced rate
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Crasus (formerly Resonac) Location: Oita, Kyushu, Japan Product: Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) Capacity (tonnes/year): 175,000 Event start:...
India withdraws import certification for seven more chemicals
MUMBAI (ICIS)--The Indian government has withdrawn quality control orders (QCO) for seven more petrochemicals, including two aromatics products, to continue easing the burden on domestic...
Roman-era ink reveals surprising chemical complexity
2000-year-old residue indicates the Romans wrote with iron-gall inks hundreds of years earlier than expected
Letters: December 2025
Readers highlight the cruelty of civet coffee, bid adieu to the Association of Public Analysts, and propose an alchemical Christmas gift
Azerbaijan fertilizers interactive trade map January-September 2025
LONDON (ICIS)--UN Comtrade has released Azerbaijan fertilizer trade data for January to September...
Urea sentiment weak as year-end buying slows
LONDON (ICIS)--Sentiment in the global urea market is set to remain weak through December despite tighter near-term supply after a recent Indian purchase, as buying activity has stalled in Europe and...
European toluene demand falls after recent hike
LONDON (ICIS)--Spot premiums for European toluene fell throughout the week ending 28 November. Premiums had been elevated in previous weeks on the back of increased demand, which has since died down....
China LDPE market to remain under pressure from supply-demand imbalance
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--The polyethylene (PE) market in China has been bearish recently. Among the grades, an accelerated decline was recorded for low density PE (LDPE), largely due to a worsening...
Turkish LNG demand to stay high amid cold weather outlook, Russia talks
Reporting by Lars Kjoellesdal and Aura Sabadus BOTAS to import up to 55 LNG cargoes this winter, traders said Cold weather expectations, Russia talks keep demand elevated BOTAS likely to renew...
Plant status: China’s ZPC restarts acetic acid plant
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Here is a plant status report: Name: Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical (ZPC) Location: Zhejiang, China Product: Acetic acid Capacity (tonnes/year): 1 million Event start: 15...
Europe MX demand stabilizes after recent peak
LONDON (ICIS)--The European mixed xylenes (MX) spot premium range softened at both ends of the range in the week ending 28 November. Market players noted that a recent peak in interest for MX from...
Plant status: S Korea’s Lotte-GS restarts Yeosu BD unit after brief outage
SINGAPORE (ICIS) – Here is a plant status report: Name: Lotte-GS Chemical Location: Yeosu, South Korea Product: Butadiene (BD) Capacity (tonnes/year): 90,000 Event start: 26 November 2025 Event...
India’s Reliance H1 Dec MEG contract nomination remains stable
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--India’s Reliance Industries announced its nomination for the first half of December monoethylene glycol (MEG) contract price at $460/tonne, a company source said. The price is on...
INSIGHT: China’s ethylene growth and NE Asia optimization heightens market volatility
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Over the next three years, the Northeast Asian ethylene market will enter a new phase marked by concurrent volume growth and structural upgrading, as new capacity comes onstream and...
ICIS TTF Early Day assessments: 1 December 2025
- Temperatures in northwest Europe are forecast mixed for the week started 1 December with the Netherlands and the UK above seasonal averages and France and Germany below - MetDesk - Planned...