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Aerial view of Ineos Phenol facility in Gladbeck, Germany


On June 17, 2025, INEOS has announced the permanent closure of its Gladbeck phenol and acetone facility in Germany, citing uncompetitive European energy costs, punitive CO₂ tax policies, and a collapse in local demand as key drivers behind the decision. The Gladbeck plant, operational since 1954 and once the world’s second-largest phenol production site and the largest single-train phenol plant globally, with a capacity of over 650,000 tonnes per year, will cease operations after a strategic review determined the site could no longer compete with cheaper imports and amid global oversupply. The closure will directly impact 279 jobs and affect over 1,500 indirect positions.

Structural Pressures and Market Context

Europe’s chemical industry is facing a severe structural crisis. Surging energy and carbon costs have eroded competitiveness, while sluggish industrial activity and persistent overcapacity have led to weak demand for aromatics and their derivatives. Aromatics have been particularly hard hit: in 2023 and 2024, they accounted for 41% of total chemical plant closures in Europe, the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) reports. Margins for key products such as styrene and benzene (a phenol precursor) have been negative since mid-2022, and the European polyester (PET) industry is also under existential threat from high costs and cheaper imports, despite EU anti-dumping measures.

INEOS specifically cited the exit of several downstream consumers of phenol and acetone in Europe, making local demand insufficient to justify continued operation or investment at Gladbeck. The company’s chairman, Jim Ratcliffe, warned that unless European regulators address the cost and policy environment, further deindustrialization is inevitable.

Strategic Shifts: From Closures to Bold Investment Decisions

The Gladbeck shutdown follows other high-profile INEOS moves in Europe. In April 2025, Petroineos—a joint venture between INEOS and PetroChina—halted crude processing at Scotland’s Grangemouth refinery, ending a century of refining at the site. The facility is being converted into an import terminal for finished fuels, a move driven by sustained financial losses and inability to compete with larger, more modern refineries in Asia and the Middle East.

Despite these closures, INEOS is not retreating entirely from the European chemicals sector. The company is pressing ahead with Project ONE, a €4 billion investment in a state-of-the-art ethane cracker in Antwerp, Belgium. Project ONE is billed as the most energy-efficient facility of its kind in Europe and is expected to be operational by 2026. This investment is seen as a bet on the future of high-value, lower-emission petrochemical production in Europe, even as legacy assets are shuttered.

Risk and Renewal in European Chemicals

INEOS’s strategy is increasingly bifurcated: the company is closing older, energy-intensive, and less competitive assets in Western Europe, particularly those exposed to high energy and carbon compliance costs, while simultaneously investing in new, world-scale, energy-efficient plants that can compete globally on cost and sustainability grounds. The closure of Gladbeck reflects broader structural shifts in the European chemicals market, where high costs, regulatory pressures, and weak demand are forcing rationalization and consolidation. INEOS’s willingness to invest in new capacity (Project ONE) while exiting legacy operations signals a long-term commitment to Europe—but only on terms that ensure global competitiveness and regulatory alignment.

The net effect is a European chemical industry in transition: legacy capacity is being eliminated, supply chains are shifting toward Asia, and only the most efficient, modern, and strategically located assets are likely to survive. For INEOS, the path forward is clear—exit where Europe is uncompetitive, invest where innovation and efficiency can deliver a sustainable edge.

#ineos #phenol #gladbeck #facilityclosure #grangemouth #projectone #refining #aromatics













Petrochemical Industry Going Global Alliance | November 9, 2024 10:50, via WeChat.

On July 6, 2023, with the 400,000 tons/year ethylbenzene-styrene unit producing qualified products, all units of the Anqing Petrochemical Refinery Conversion Plant Structural Adjustment Project were successfully started up safely and environmentally friendly at one time.

The project is led by a 3 million tons/year heavy oil catalytic cracking unit. By increasing the production of light olefins and aromatic raw materials to produce high-value-added chemical products, it effectively enhances the adaptability and flexibility of the company's production structure to changes in demand, and explores a development path for domestic refining companies to cope with overcapacity and achieve transformation and upgrading.

Among them, the 3 million tons/year heavy oil catalytic cracking unit is the world's first RTC process heavy oil catalytic cracking unit, and the 400,000 tons/year ethylbenzene-styrene unit is currently the largest dry gas-based ethylbenzene unit in China.

The heavy oil catalytic cracking unit of Anqing Petrochemical has been started-up

Seetao 2023-06-25 15:12

The heavy oil catalytic cracking unit of Anqing Petrochemical has a total of three main fan units, namely two main units K101A/B and one backup fan unit K102. After the backup fan is successfully started and the two units have completed the relevant air tightness and other related processes, the K102 unit will be shut down, and the two main fan units K101A/B will enter the ignition furnace heating stage. It is expected that the overall start-up process will continue for more than 10 days.

Anqing will stop operating its 1.4mn t/yr fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) and 700,000 t/yr deep catalytic cracking unit, which are located near a residential area, for environmental reasons. The project will involve adding a new 3mn t/yr DCC that will enable the refinery to process crude with a higher sulphur content of 1.5pc.

Anqing currently produces 30,000 t/yr of polypropylene, 100,000 t/yr of ethylbenzene and styrene and 210,000 t/yr of acrylonitrile, among other products. It will scale up output of these products through the upgrading project.

Sinopec's Anqing refinery shifts towards petrochemicals

PETROTHALIL Analytical Petrochemical News Agency | 2020/06/23 09:38:57

Work on the 11bn yuan ($1.5bn) project at Anqing in the central province of Anhui started in early May. A Yn6.6bn first phase aims to produce around 2mn t/yr of olefins and aromatics, including 150,000 t/yr of ethylene, 640,000 t/yr of propylene and 610,000 t/yr of aromatics products. Trial production is scheduled for late 2022. A second, Yn4.4bn phase will add another 650,000 t/yr of unspecified chemical output.

Refined product output will be cut by a third after the project is complete, with the gasoline yield rising at the expense of diesel. Anqing is also expanding its pipeline connections to replace fuel transportation by river. Sinopec opened an 88,000 b/d oil products pipeline linking Anqing to the cities of Hefei, Huainan, Bengbu and Fuyang in late 2016.

Anqing will stop operating its 1.4mn t/yr fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) and 700,000 t/yr deep catalytic cracking unit, which are located near a residential area, for environmental reasons. The project will involve adding a new 3mn t/yr DCC that will enable the refinery to process crude with a higher sulphur content of 1.5pc.

Anqing currently produces 30,000 t/yr of polypropylene, 100,000 t/yr of ethylbenzene and styrene and 210,000 t/yr of acrylonitrile, among other products. It will scale up output of these products through the upgrading project.

#dcc #fcc #styrene #ethylbenzene #alkylation #dehydrogenation #aromatics #olefins #btx #resid #cracking #anqing #petrochemical #sinopec #refinery #china


Yangzi-BASF Light Hydrocarbon Comprehensive Utilization Project with 1 million tonnes steam cracker begins construction, receives environmental impact assessment.

7th Sep 2024 | Source: DT New Materials, via
Sohu.com

Yangzi-BASF Light Hydrocarbon Comprehensive Utilization Project

On August 30, 2024, the Yangzi-BASF Light Hydrocarbon Comprehensive Utilization Project officially began construction. The project investment is approximately 9.142 billion yuan, with downstream new materials projects totaling about 25.652 billion yuan. The project
includes construction of three process units and supporting facilities:

° One 1 million tons/year ethylene steam cracking unit
° One 500,000 tons/year gasoline hydrogenation unit
° One 620,000 tons/year aromatics extraction unit

The project is constructed and operated by Nanjing Yangzi-BASF Olefins Co., Ltd., which was newly established on October 24, 2023. The company was formed as a 50-50 joint venture between Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Company Limited and BASF-YPC Company Limited.


15th Nov 2023 16:25 | Petrochemical Federation Chemical New Materials Committee | via WeChat.

With a total investment of over 10.3 billion yuan, Nanjing Yangzi-BASF Olefins Co., Ltd. will build a 1 million tons/year steam cracking ethylene plant

On November 13, 2023, the Jiangsu Environmental Protection Public Network released the second public announcement of the environmental impact assessment of the light hydrocarbon comprehensive utilization project of Nanjing Yangzi BASF Olefin Co., Ltd. and put forward suggestions and opinions on the project construction content to all sectors of society.

° Construction unit: Nanjing Yangzi-Yanba Olefins Co., Ltd.
° Project name: Light hydrocarbon comprehensive utilization project
° Construction location: The project area is located in the inspection and safety area of Yangzi Petrochemical; the product tank area is located in the Henghai area of Yangzi Petrochemical; the flare is arranged in the BASF-YPC-Yunnan land.
° Project type: Greenfield project.
° Total investment: 1,030,513 million yuan, with additional environmental protection investment of 262 million yuan;
° Land area: The total land area is 43.3 hectares (33 hectares for Jianan area and 10.3 hectares for Henghai area).
° Number of employees: The labor quota for this project is 207 people.
° Project Overview: The project includes a 1 million tons/year steam cracking ethylene production unit and 4 downstream chemical units; supporting public engineering systems include raw materials, intermediate raw materials, product tank farms, air compressor stations, circulating water fields, power supply systems, flare systems, etc.; and the transformation of existing facilities of Yangzi and BASF-YPC.

It is reported that Yangzi Petrochemical's existing "refinery structure adjustment project" will be completed and put into production before this project is put into production.

After the project is put into production, the refining sector of Yangzi Petrochemical will supply raw materials for the "ethylene cracking unit of this project" and "Yangzi Petrochemical's existing 800,000-ton ethylene cracking unit."

#basf #ypc #lighthydrocarbon #petrochemical #yangzi #ethylene #steamcracking #gasoline #aromatics












Picture: Indian subcontinent refineries, via ppPLUS

India’s dependence on imports to meet its requirements of basic petrochemicals, including polymers, is only expected to rise, despite projects – under implementation and on the drawing boards. This is partly because the historical baggage of poor capacity builds will take time to catch up with rising demand.

In the last few years, however, India’s public sector refiners have climbed on the petrochemicals bandwagon, seeking value-added outlets for refinery streams. They have invested in aromatics (for feeding the polyester value chain), propylene (for polypropylene, PP, and some other chemicals notably, oxo-alcohols and acrylate monomers), linear alkyl benzene (LAB), a key detergent raw material, and a few other projects. And more are to come in the near-term.

There are several commonalities amongst the firm projects. For one, the emphasis seems to be on building the C3 (propylene) value chain. This is not surprising as FCC propylene offers a simple, low-cost route to the olefin and one that can be conveniently retrofitted into existing refinery operations. There is also an overwhelming emphasis on PP production, which may not be wise, as it runs the risk of overbuild should demand growth not pan out as anticipated.

There are other propylene derivatives that can be considered, and these merit attention if not by the refiners themselves then by third party investors for whom it will be more worthwhile. Much will hinge on the commercials of the olefin supply arrangement, but such business models are widely followed, including here in India, let alone in other countries.

Importantly, the government needs to recognise that the chemical industry as a key enabler of modern living, and not a nuisance to be constrained through regulation and red-tape. The priority must be on developing well-developed clusters where not just the petrochemical industry, but also the broad chemical industry – including the fine and specialty chemical industries, wherein India’s competitiveness is well recognised – can locate and start operations in double-quick time. Clusters are efficient and safe locales where the industry can thrive, as several countries have amply shown.

India needs a much larger and more diversified chemical industry than it has now. The former it seems is happening. Not so sure of the latter. The herd mentality to investments needs to change. Those who have dared to do so – and there are a few examples – have been amply rewarded. More need to emulate, not imitate, them!

Ravi Raghavan, 12 Nov 2024, Linkedin post.

#india #petrochemicals #chemicals #valuechains #propylene #fcc #refinery #polyester #aromatics #olefins #polypropylene #acrylics #lab #chemicalindustry #indianchemicals #IOCL #BPCL #HPCL #RelianceIndustries #investment #specialitychemicals #finechemicals #oilrefining #polymers #ethylene #competitiveness



On April 1st, INEOS has completed the acquisition of TotalEnergies’ 50% share of Naphtachimie (720 ktpa steam cracker), Appryl (300 ktpa polypropylene business), Gexaro (270 ktpa aromatics business) and 3TC (naphtha storage, a 50/50 JV between Petroineos and TotalEnergies) announced on July 5th. These businesses have until today been joint ventures between the two companies. A number of other infrastructure assets have also been acquired including part of TotalEnergies ethylene pipeline network in France.

INEOS will now fully integrate the Naphthachimie, Gexaro and Appryl petrochemical businesses, assets and infrastructure into INEOS Olefins & Polymers South at Lavera in Southern France. Gexaro, which is located on the Lavera refinery site will continue to be operated by Petroineos.

Source: INEOS Press Release, Apr 1st, 2024

#steamcracker #aromatics #polypropylene #naphtha #naphtha #pipeline #ethylene #olefins #refinery