TotalEnergies to Shut Down Antwerp Steam Cracker at End of 2027

French oil giant TotalEnergies said on April 22 that it will shut down its oldest steam cracker in Antwerp at the end of 2027 due to "expected large surpluses of ethylene in Europe". The closure of the unit will not lead to layoffs, and 253 employees will be offered pensions or internal transfers.

In recent years, the European chemical industry has been facing weak demand and high input costs, leading to the closure or conversion of several companies.

ExxonMobil shut down its steam cracker and petrochemical production at the port of Jerome in northern France last year, and chemical companies LyondellBasell and Covestro announced this month that they would permanently shut down some production units in the Netherlands.

TotalEnergies said that most of the ethylene orders for the cracker to be closed were mainly supplied to the same customer, but the customer said it would not renew the contract after it expires in 2027.

The French company will continue to operate a newly built steam cracker, and the ethylene produced by the unit will be consumed entirely by Total's industrial units in Antwerp and Feru.

TotalEnergies Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne acknowledged in an October earnings call that “there are too many small refineries in Europe.” He said TotalEnergieswould review its six sites in Europe and convert the weakest into biorefineries that produce renewable fuels, as it has done at its La Mede and Grand Puyt plants.

The Antwerp plant has begun a conversion to start producing sustainable aviation fuel this year, and plans to produce more renewable transport fuels by 2027 using green hydrogen produced at Total’s offshore wind farms.