Company Dynamic

Borouge 4 has officially reached full-capacity operation in Ruwais, UAE, adding 1.4 million tonnes per year of polyethylene capacity. Total polyolefin capacity at the site now stands at 6.4 million tonnes per year, making Ruwais the world's largest single-site polyolefin production base. A new 100,000 tonnes per year cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) unit was commissioned at the same time, doubling the site's XLPE capacity to 200,000 tonnes. Borouge's products are mainly directed to Asia and Euro

• PE
• Borouge

Activist investor Starboard Value has disclosed a stake in Honeywell spin-off Solstice Advanced Materials, calling for approximately $100 million in cost reductions and a renewed focus on refrigerants and nuclear materials following the termination of a proposed $14.5 billion acquisition.

• Solstice Advanced Materials
• Starboard Value Investment
• Specialty Chemicals Industry
• Refrigerants and Nuclear Materials
• Chemical Industry Restructuring

AkzoNobel reported third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of €388 million, broadly in line with market expectations, as its margin improved for a sixth consecutive quarter and the company maintained its full-year 2026 earnings outlook.

• AkzoNobel Q3 Earnings
• Global Coatings Industry
• Adjusted EBITDA Performance
• AkzoNobel Axalta Merger
• Chemical Industry Financials

Andhra Pradesh has confirmed that Adani Group has proposed an integrated titanium industrial park in Srikakulam, with an investment of 160 billion rupees (about US$1.9 billion). The plan calls for producing 200,000 tons of titanium dioxide and 10,000 tons of titanium metal annually, using ilmenite from beach sand rather than exporting raw ore. India holds the world's third-largest titanium reserves, roughly 92 million tons of ilmenite equivalent, yet imports more than 75% of its titanium dioxide

• Adani
• TitaniumDioxide

BASF has signed a Letter of Intent to expand semiconductor materials production at its Kuanyin site in Taiwan, adding capacity for materials used in sub-2nm processes alongside enhanced quality analysis, research and technical support capabilities.

• BASF Semiconductor Materials
• Advanced Semiconductor Chemicals
• Sub 2nm Chip Manufacturing
• Taiwan Electronic Materials
• High Purity Specialty Chemicals

BASF and Highsun Group signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding on October 19, 2026, planning to combine their European polyamide 6 value chain businesses into a 50:50 joint venture. The assessment also covers both parties' global extrusion operations outside North America, while their engineering plastics downstream businesses stay out of scope. The deal follows BASF's September cut of European caprolactam capacity from 500,000 to 400,000 tons, with plants at Ludwigshafen shut down. Hi

• BASF
• HighsunGroup
• polyamide6

AkzoNobel and Axalta have formally submitted antitrust remedies for their proposed $25 billion merger, extending the European Commission's initial review into November as the two coatings companies prepare to combine under the name Axanzo.

• AkzoNobel Axalta Merger
• EU Antitrust Review
• Global Coatings Industry
• Vehicle Refinish Business
• Chemical Industry Consolidation

H.B. Fuller has rejected Ancora's second unsolicited offer of up to $1.4 billion for its Building Adhesive Solutions business while launching a market review of selected non-core operations that could be sold to reduce debt.

• HB Fuller Acquisition Bid
• Building Adhesives Solutions
• Adhesives Industry Mergers
• Chemical Industry Portfolio
• Non Core Asset Divestment

Solvay has lowered its 2026 earnings forecast after Middle East disruptions and the prolonged shutdown of its peroxide operations at Saudi Arabia's Sadara complex reduced third-quarter profitability.

• Solvay Earnings Outlook
• Sadara Peroxide Shutdown
• Middle East Petrochemicals
• Chemical Industry Earnings
• Saudi Arabia Chemical Industry

LyondellBasell permanently shut its Brindisi PP2 polypropylene unit in Italy on October 17. The 230,000 t/y line, commissioned in 1982, was the first in the world to use the Spheripol process. Its closure followed the April 2025 shutdown of Eni Versalis's nearby Brindisi cracker, which had supplied up to 220,000 t/y of propylene. Replacement feedstock now arrives by ship from other Italian sites, and freight costs erased the unit's margins. Weak European PP demand and oversupply deepened the pro

• LyondellBasell
• PP

Saudi Aramco's 30% stake in the RMB 83.7 billion Huajin Aramco project in Panjin is less a financial bet than a supply-chain lock-in. In exchange for equity, Aramco secures a long-term buyer for up to 210,000 barrels per day of Saudi crude, effectively insulating its exports from demand risk. For China, the trade-off is 30% of profits for reliable heavy crude amid Middle East volatility. The complex—15 million tons/year refining, 1.65 million tons/year ethylene, 2 million tons/year paraxylene—ta

• HuajinAramco

• WanhuaChemical
• batterymaterials
• CathodeMaterials

LG Chem restarted its No. 2 naphtha cracking center at Yeosu on October 12, 2026, after a shutdown since March 23 caused by naphtha supply disruptions from the U.S.-Iran conflict. The plant can produce 800,000 tons of ethylene and 400,000 tons of propylene annually, with 2024 sales of KRW 2.49 trillion. Feedstock procurement has normalized, but weak downstream demand and elevated naphtha prices keep operating rates near 70% in China and Japan. LG Chem’s petrochemical business remains loss-making

• LGChem
• ethylene
• naphthacracking

BASF is reportedly prepared to preserve Evonik's existing German site and employment guarantees in a potential takeover, maintaining protections against compulsory redundancies through 2032 following the rejection of its earlier €10.3 billion bid.

• BASF Evonik Takeover
• German Chemical Industry
• Chemical Industry Mergers
• Employment Protection 2032
• Specialty Chemicals Market

On October 10, the 100,000/1,000,000 t/y ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol (EO/EG) unit of Fujian China-Saudi Petrochemical began oxygen introduction and startup. The ethylene glycol product passed analysis and was sent to the intermediate tank farm, marking a successful first-attempt trial startup. Earlier, the project's core 1.8 million t/y ethylene unit completed mechanical handover in June and began integrated commissioning, while three polyolefin units achieved successful trial startups in suc

• ChinaSaudiGulei
• Petrochemical

Yemen's Houthis claimed attacks on two Saudi Aramco energy facilities on October 11, alongside missile and drone strikes targeting airports in Riyadh and Dammam, as military hostilities between the group and Saudi Arabia intensified.

• Saudi Aramco Attacks
• Houthi Missile Strikes
• Saudi Energy Infrastructure
• Middle East Energy Security
• Global Oil And Gas Market

On October 8, Dongyue Silicon Materials issued a first-three-quarters 2026 profit forecast: net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 547–567 million, up 19,048%–19,748% year on year, while adjusted net profit reached RMB 589–609 million versus RMB 11.82 million a year earlier. Shares locked at the 20% limit-up of RMB 17.15 on October 9, pushing market value past RMB 20 billion, with Chenguang New Materials, Guibao Technology and Xinyaqiang gaining too.The surge rests on an extremely low ba

• DongyueSiliconMaterials

Xinxiang Chemical Fiber will halt its North Zone biomass cellulose filament line and subsidiary Xinxiang Xinglu Technology from October 12, 2026, after Fengquan District moved to reclaim about 98.85 mu of industrial land for urban construction. The shutdown affects 31,200 tonnes per year of capacity and is expected to cut 2026 filament output by roughly 8,500 tonnes, revenue by about RMB 260 million, and total profit by about RMB 40 million. First-phase compensation for land and attachments tota

• XinxiangChemicalFiber

Westlake Chemical will permanently close its 165,000-tonne/year PVC plant in Cologne, Germany, with production ending in Q1 2027. The decision carries roughly $205 million in pre-tax charges—about $100 million cash restructuring and $105 million in non-cash impairments—and affects around 120 employees. Cologne was chosen because its smaller scale, inland logistics, and higher operating costs made it the weakest node in Westlake's European PVC portfolio. The company will keep serving customers fr

• Westlake
• Cologne
• PVC

AkzoNobel and Axalta are approaching conditional EU antitrust approval for their $25 billion merger, with AkzoNobel's vehicle refinish business expected to be divested to address remaining competition concerns.

• AkzoNobel Axalta Merger
• EU Antitrust Review
• Vehicle Refinish Coatings
• Global Coatings Industry
• Chemical Industry Consolidation