The European chemical industry's 'shutdown wave': Exactly how many chemical plants have been shut down? We list them all for you.

Shell: In March 2025, the company announced it was exploring strategic partnerships in the U.S. while planning to close certain European facilities—including its ortho-/para-xylene assets in Wesseling, Germany, and its methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) facility in Pernis, the Netherlands. In July 2025, Shell upgraded its 'assessment scope' to a 'formal exit plan', deciding to shut down aromatic and olefin units at its Rheinland integrated refining & petrochemical complex in Germany, as well as selected olefin and derivative units at its Moerdijk site in the Netherlands. The company plans to phase out operations at its Mossmorran cracker facility in the UK between 2026 and 2027. TotalEnergies: In April 2025, the company announced it would permanently shut down an aging cracker unit at its Antwerp refinery-petrochemical complex in Belgium by the end of 2027. The unit has annual ethylene and propylene capacities of 550,000 tons and 230,000 tons, respectively. SGL Carbon: In May 2025, the company announced—under its restructuring plan for its loss-making carbon fiber business—that it would close its Lavradio production site in Portugal (producing acrylic fibers and carbon fiber precursors). Production will cease in June 2025, with full shutdown completed by the end of 2026. Lanxess: In Q2 2025, the company advanced the shutdown of its caprolactam plant at its Krefeld-Uerdingen facility in Germany to the end of Q2 2025. BASF: Between June and July 2025, the company successively announced that multiple production lines at its Ludwigshafen integrated site in Germany would be shut down or divested—including adipic acid, cyclododecanone (CDON), cyclopentanone (CPON), caprolactam, synthetic ammonia, and TDI units. The company stated this move aims to adjust its production structure to adapt to evolving market conditions and ensure long-term profitability across its value chain. This represents BASF’s largest-scale 'streamlining' action in Europe since shutting down select ammonia and methanol units in 2023–2024. Westlake: In June 2025, the company announced the closure of its bisphenol A and liquid epoxy resin units at its Pernis plant in the Netherlands—and confirmed it would not restart its chloropropene and epichlorohydrin units, which had already ceased operations in July 2024. The entire Pernis plant will shut down in 2025. Trinseo: In June 2025, the company confirmed the permanent shutdown of its 160,000-ton-per-year polycarbonate (PC) plant in Stade, Germany. It cited declining European demand and widening energy-and-raw-materials cost differentials as causing 'long-term losses' at this site. Dow: In Q4 2025, the company will announce new shutdown plans—halting a chemical recycling project at its Böhlen, Germany facility, with an investment exceeding USD 100 million. The immediate trigger is the planned shutdown of its main cracker unit; deeper reasons include soaring European energy costs (accounting for up to 40% of operating expenses), persistently weak end-market demand, and stringent regulatory conditions—rendering such investments economically unviable. INEOS: Its exit initiatives span from January through July 2025.

Why did we still underestimate the impact of the chemical industry’s supply-chain disruption?

When three people walk together, one of them can always serve as my teacher—welcome to follow us. When severe winter weather hit the U.S., we published an article titled: 'We May Have Underestimated the Impact of Chemical Supply-Chain Disruption.' Although we were mentally prepared, we still did not anticipate the surge in chemical prices—far exceeding market expectations. Chapter I: Forecasting and Trading Are Two Different Things Trading is difficult precisely because forecasts are often inaccurate, and financial market volatility moves far faster than expected. Judgment and trading must therefore form independent, systematic processes. If judgment proves wrong but trading follows strict risk-control procedures—rigorous capital management and disciplined entry/exit rules—risks can be effectively mitigated. We often say, 'Believe in yourself,' because society presents fierce competition; only inner strength and confidence enable us to stand firm. However, trading is a battle against our own greed and fear—we cannot defeat ourselves! Once we do, we cease to be ourselves—so what meaning remains in 'defeating oneself'? Moreover, human nature is inherently unconquerable; thus, we can only constrain and regulate it through discipline. Chapter II: The Unique Characteristics of Chemical Plants What is the first principle of chemical plants? Metal pipelines plus complex reaction vessels—this very composition means chemical plants are prone to frequent failures and require annual maintenance. For example, in October 2020, concentrated maintenance on styrene plants triggered a spot price surge—from over RMB 5,000 to RMB 10,500 per ton. Additionally, chemical plants carry enormous safety risks: explosions can cause massive casualties and property damage, demanding extremely high safety standards. Furthermore, iron rusts easily; some units cannot remain idle for extended periods—so is cost truly the decisive factor for chemical plants? Why does a county government in Zhejiang province burn RMB 100,000 daily into an empty PTA facility—operating it without producing any output? Chapter III: Impact of Texas Weather in the U.S. Virtually all major U.S.-based Fortune 500 chemical enterprises were affected. Below are companies that publicly declared force majeure due to production halts: 1. Westlake Chemical Corporation Its U.S. caustic soda, chlorine, PVC, and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) facilities were impacted by force majeure. The company holds 2.9 million tons/year of caustic soda capacity, over 2 million tons/year of PVC capacity, and 2.6 million tons/year of VCM capacity; chlorine capacity across five affected U.S. sites exceeds 2.26 million tons/year. 2. Vestolit Due to insufficient VCM feedstock from U.S. suppliers, its PVC production at facilities in Colombia and Mexico encountered force majeure. Total PVC capacity across these plants reaches 1.8 million tons/year. 3. Formosa Plastics USA Its 1.3-million-ton-per-year PVC facility in Port Comfort, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, faced force majeure. As early as February 17, the company had declared force majeure across all its chlor-alkali product lines. 4. Dow Chemical Multiple intermediate chemical productions at its facilities in Deer Park, Freeport, Texas City, and Bayport (Texas); Hahnville (Louisiana); and Louisville (Kentucky) were disrupted by force majeure. Products affected include: vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), methyl methacrylate (MMA), glycidyl methacrylate (GMAA), butyl methacrylate (BMA), glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2EHA), and butyl acrylate (BA).

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Westlake Chemical Corporation plans to close its PVC plant in Cologne, Germany by Q1 2027 due to weak demand and high energy costs. The move will incur $205 million in charges but aims to improve European chlorovinyl profitability.

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