Aromatics
Overview
The global aromatics market is made up of several diverse product markets and can be affected by a great many factors.
Benzene is a highly traded and volatile commodity because of its predominantly co-product nature and unpredictable supply. Styrene, benzene’s largest derivative, represents about 50pc of global benzene demand. Anyone involved in the benzene industry – directly or indirectly – needs market and pricing insight to anticipate supply shortages and large swings in pricing.
Meanwhile, the toluene and xylenes isomer markets are intertwined with the global markets for gasoline. Toluene and xylenes are highly traded commodities that create a lot of interest in the industry because of the various factors that affect demand growth. Outside of their inter-relationship with the gasoline markets, the major end-uses for these commodities vary across the world, from polyester fibres and food and beverage packaging to construction. Anyone involved in the toluene and xylenes industries – directly or indirectly – needs insight into how the toluene and xylenes markets can or will impact on their business, from raw material costs or as a price indicator for downstream products.
Our aromatics experts will help you determine what trends to track and how to stay competitive in today’s ever-changing global markets.
Latest aromatics news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global aromatics services industry.
Turkey's Koksan builds $710mn PET plant in China
Turkey's Koksan builds $710mn PET plant in China
Shanghai, 17 March (Argus) — Turkish producer Koksan has started building a $710mn PET project at Yangkou Port in Nantong city, Jiangsu province in March. The project involves a 1mn t/yr PET resin unit, consisting of 800,000 t/yr PET and 200,000 t/yr recycled PET (rPET). Two 200,000 t/yr PET resin production lines will be built in the first phase. By establishing the project at Yangkou Port, the company can fully utilise raw materials such as PTA from Chinese chemicals firm Tongkun's integrated polyester project at Yangkou Port to produce PET sheets. This not only gives Tongkun's PTA project an outlet but also provides cost-effective raw materials for Koksan's project. The project can also leverage the existing inland river port and bulk cargo terminal to source raw materials from Chinese companies such as Sinopec, Sanfangxiang, and Yadong. The Nantong Municipal Government estimates that the Koksan project is expected to achieve annual sales of $2.1bn and generate $52mn in annual tax revenue upon completion. Koksan already planned to invest in China in mid-2024 and it ultimately decided to invest in Nantong's Rudong county, after conducting site evaluations in Dalian city's Changxing Island, Fujian province's Gulei town, and Guangdong province's Huizhou city. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan’s MGC to fund US biomass-based plastic start-up
Japan’s MGC to fund US biomass-based plastic start-up
Tokyo, 13 March (Argus) — Japanese petrochemical producer Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (MGC) announced on 12 March that it decided to invest an undisclosed value in a US biomass-based plastics start-up ReSource Chemical. ReSource Chemical is developing technology to generate furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), which is a raw monomer used to produce plastic polyethylenefuranoate (PEF), from wooden biomass-based lignocellulose. PEF is expected to replace polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) once a reasonable production method is established, as PEF is likely to have stronger heat-resilience and durability as well as lower gas-transmission rate and moisture permeability than PET. US venture capital funds Khosla Ventures, Fathom Fund and Chevron Technology Ventures and other individual investors also plan to finance ReSource Chemical with MGC. ReSource Chemical will raise $15mn in total. The funds will be used to build a pilot plant to manufacture FDCA. MGC aims to procure furoic acid, which is an intermediate product in ReSource Chemical's FDCA production process. MGC said furoic acid is not currently in use, but the firm will explore potential usage of this biomass-based feedstock in future. Japanese companies have attempted to develop biomass-based plastics for decarbonisation. Domestic trading house Mitsui plans to explore producing 400,000 t/yr bio-PET in the southeastern region of the US, targeting to start output during 2025-2026. By Nanami Oki Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
LyondellBasell mulls Dutch PO/SM plant reorganisation
LyondellBasell mulls Dutch PO/SM plant reorganisation
London, 11 February (Argus) — Chemicals firm LyondellBasell is in negotiations with workers at its Maasvlakte propylene oxide (PO) and styrene monomer (SM) production facility in the Netherlands about "a reorganisation at the plant", Dutch workers' union FNV told Argus . The union is negotiating with the company on compensation for workers whose jobs may be affected and assistance with transitioning to new roles. Members will vote on the proposed plan by the end of February. "At this stage, no definitive decisions have been made," LyondellBassell said today. The firm "continuously evaluates business conditions, our portfolio and a wide range of options for managing our assets," it said. The Maasvlakte PO/SM plant is a 50-50 joint venture between LyondellBasell and Germany's Covestro. "Covestro regularly reviews its portfolio in the light of business conditions. This includes discussions with our joint venture partner regarding the Maasvlakte site," Covestro said. LyondellBasell and Covestro both declined to comment on whether they are discussing a possible sale of the Maasvlakte facility. LyondellBasell launched a strategic review of its European assets last May. The review is ongoing, the firm said last month. The Maasvlakte plant is one of six ‘non-core' European assets, the company said in August last year. The facility has 315,000 t/yr of PO capacity and 640,000 t/yr of SM capacity. It began operations in 2003 and employs approximately 160 people. The plant has been idled since December last year 2024. It has been intermittently idled several times in recent years, reflecting a structural surplus in Europe's PO and SM production capacity. The negotiations with workers indicate LyondellBasell is considering longer-term changes to operations at the site. Europe's petrochemicals sector remains squeezed by high energy costs, a higher overall cost base compared to other production regions and stagnant regional downstream demand. LyondellBassell also has 220,000 t/yr of PO and tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) production capacity in France and 260,000 t/yr of PO and TBA capacity in the Netherlands. It also has a total of 649,000 t/yr of PO and SM capacity in the US that it operates jointly with Covestro, as well as over 1mn t/yr of its own PO and TBA capacity in the US including a 470,000 t/yr plant in Channelview, Texas, which started up in early 2023 . Production margins for PO/TBA facilities, which supply TBA for MTBE production, are generally much more favourable than for PO/SM plants. And lower US energy costs help to make US PO output more cost-efficient than in European production. US exports of PO to Europe have increased sharply since 2023, reaching 7,800 t/month in 2024, according to US customs data, up from just 760 t/month in 2020 (see graph). By Laura Tovey-Fall US PO exports '000 t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
BP puts Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany up for sale
BP puts Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany up for sale
Hamburg, 6 February (Argus) — BP said today it will begin seeking buyers for its Ruhr Oel business, which includes the 257,800 b/d Gelsenkirchen refinery and an associated petrochemicals plant in western Germany. The UK company hopes to reach a sales agreement in 2025, although the exact timing will depend on approval of local competition authorities, it said. The sale should have no affect on short-term supply of oil products in western Germany as the refinery will keep up normal production in the interim, the company said in a press release. BP had said it planned to downsize Gelsenkirchen , shutting four unitsand reducing its crude capacity by a third. The shutdown of the affected units is scheduled for the end of the 2025 and will go ahead, BP told Argus . Potential buyers are not yet known. BP is the latest in a series of companies looking to sell or reduce their refinery shares in Germany. Shell is still searching for a buyer for its 37.5pc stake in the PCK consortium's 226,000 b/d Schwedt refinery, in eastern Germany, after a sale to UK energy firm Prax fell through in late December. Shell was also in discussions to sell its 32.25pc stake in the Miro's consortium's 310,000 b/d Karlsruhe refinery to czech company MERO CR in 2024, which did not result in a sales agreement. Shell is further on track to shut down the Wesseling plant at its 334,000 b/d Rhineland refinery complex. Russian state-controlled Rosneft intends to sell its German subsidiaries, Rosneft Deutschland and RN Refining & Marketing, which are held under the trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency. These assets include a controlling stake in the PCK joint venture, a 24pc share in the Miro's consortium and a 28.6pc share in the Bayernoil joint venture, operator of the 207,000 b/d Neustadt-Vohburg refinery in Bavaria. ExxonMobil announced its intention to sell its 25pc stake in the Karlsruhe refinery to Austria's Alcmene, a subsidiary of Estonia's Liwathon, in 2023. The sale fell through in July 2024 after a German court upheld a ruling banning the company from selling its stakes in the Miro consortium following an injunction filed by Shell. BP also operates the 95,000 b/d Lingen refinery in western Germany. This is unaffected by the sale plan for Gelsenkirchen. By Natalie Müller Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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Indian benzene derivatives imports set to rise
Despite the anticipated growth in India's petrochemical demand, the production of benzene derivatives lags behind the rising demand in the country.
Insight papers - 30/01/25An outlook for the 2025 US octane blending season
Following two frenetic years for the US octane markets in 2022 and 2023, there have been substantial changes in the factors impacting gasoline blending and demand for incremental octane. 2024 was more of a tale of two halves, but what is the coming year likely to have in store?
Blog - 20/01/25Increasing demand for household appliances to support Styrene demand in China
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