Brazil raises antidumping duty on US suspension PVC imports to 43.7%

Brazil’s Chamber of Foreign Commerce on May 27 voted to raise the antidumping duty (ADD) on suspension-grade polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from the US to 43.7%. The ADD had been 8.2%, as per Chemweek.

The US is one of the main suppliers of PVC to Brazil, which does not produce enough of the material to meet domestic demand. In April, the US was the second largest supplier to Brazil, accounting for 31% of the total import volume, according to government data.

One trader told Platts that he did not expect the higher ADD to affect spot import prices, as the share of customers buying from the US is small, despite the large volume. “This will have a greater impact on the PVC pipe industry. They used to buy a lot of resin from the US at very low prices,” the source said.

The expectation is that the demand from these manufacturers will now be met by local producers Braskem and Unipar, the same trader said. Colombia and Egypt, which have tariff exemptions for exporting PVC to Brazil, are also "strong candidates" to meet this demand, although there are uncertainties about frequent logistical issues and availability of these origins.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed spot PVC at $835 per metric ton CFR Brazil on May 21.

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Bio-based chemicals firm Avantium NV (Amsterdam, Netherlands) has joined a consortium working toward large-scale development and scale-up of renewable 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), a sper Chemweek.

Dubbed CERISEA or Competitive production of HMF and derivatives for an Eco-designed and Resilient Industry towards Sustainable European Autonomy, the consortium is led by Michelin Engineered Polymers, a division of the Michelin Group that focuses on the development and manufacturing of advanced polymer materials. The company plans to engineer and construct an industrial-scale HMF plant under a €20 million EU Horizon Europe grant.

5-HMF is a key intermediate in the conversion of biomass into biofuels and biochemicals. It can also be transformed into various platform chemicals, including 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and levulinic acid. FDCA is a precursor to polyethylene furanoate (PEF), an alternative to polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

The consortium also plans to assess synergies with Avantium’s FDCA plant, which is under construction at Delfzijl, Netherlands, and set to come online in the second half of 2025. Avantium will receive a €200,000 grant by the EU Horizon Europe program for its participation.

CERISEA will also explore a wide range of bio-based sustainable applications for HMF. The other members are IFP Energies Nouvelles, ADM Bazancourt SASU, ARKEMA, Kraton Chemical BV, Universite de Technologie de Compiegne (UTC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), IFEU – Institut fur Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg, Instituto Tecnologico del Embalaje, Transporte y Logistica, Energieinstitut an der Johannes Kepler Universitat Linz Verein, and Bioeconomy for Change.
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Nissan Chemical Corp. reported a 6.8% increase in net sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, to Yen25.1 billion ($172.4 million), for its chemicals business division. The unit’s operating income grew significantly to Yen179 million from Yen48 million in the previous-year period, as per Chemweek.

In the basic chemicals subsegment, sales of high-purity sulfuric acid products — used as agents for cleaning semiconductors — increased. Nissan Chemical reported lower sales of urea. The company said sales of environmental-related products, such as sterilizing and disinfecting agents for pools and septic tanks, and cosmetics increased.

In the performance materials segment, operating profit grew by 28.4% to Yen28.9 billion, on sales up 10.8% to Yen73 billion. In the display materials subsegment, sales of LCD alignment coatings rose. In the semiconductor materials subsegment, sales of antireflective coatings for semiconductors and multilayer process materials grew due to higher customer utilization. In the inorganic materials segment, sales of polishing materials for electronics, as well as hard coatings and oilfield materials, grew.

The agricultural chemicals business unit saw a 4.8% increase in sales to Yen70.7 billion, with operating profit increasing by 9.4% to Yen25.5 billion. Sales of active ingredients for veterinary pharmaceuticals rose. In the Japanese market, sales of paddy rice herbicides and insecticides remained strong.

The company’s other reporting segments include healthcare, trading and others.

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Mitsui Chemicals Inc. has announced plans to separate its basic and green materials (B&GM) business, primarily engaged in petrochemicals, into a new entity. The company said that the split and establishment of the new entity would take place by about 2027, as per Chemweek.

According to Mitsui, the new entity will enable the company to make management decisions that are fast-paced and tailored to the petchems sector, and pursue investments for green chemicals and other projects financed by the entity’s own cash flow.

B&GM is Mitsui’s largest business in sales terms, with revenue of Yen710 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. The business posted its second consecutive annual operating loss, Yen11.4 billion, in the year ended March 31.

“Our B&GM sector has been hit hard by a structural supply/demand gap caused by oversupply from major production increases in China,” said Mitsui Chemicals President and CEO Osamu Hashimoto in a presentation May 30.

Mitsui said that to accelerate the transformation of its business portfolio toward specialty chemicals, part of the company’s long-term management plan, it also promoting strategies, including alliances with other companies, in its specialty chemicals domains, life and healthcare solutions, mobility solutions and ICT solutions, as well as in B&GM, which have different industry structures and business strategies, as well as varying required speeds in decision-making.

The management plan, called Vision 2030, was launched in 2021. However, it has fallen behind schedule because of the challenges faced by the B&GM business, Hashimoto said. “This fiscal year has brought not only continued risks from geopolitics, inflation and rising interest rates, but also the issue of US trade policies, creating an increasingly difficult business environment,” he said.

In the specialty chemicals domains, the company intends to focus on differentiated fields, and through proactive resource investment and new business development, including M&A and alliances, and is working to develop into a high-growth, high-profitability global specialty chemicals business.

For the B&GM sector, Mitsui is working to develop a strong green chemicals business that supports Japanese industry through restructuring, the development of high-performance materials, and the shift to green chemistry, it added. Mitsui’s green chemicals include ammonia, and bio-based and recycled products.

The company said that B&GM is a business that plays an important role in Japan's industrial competitiveness, economic security and carbon neutrality through stabilizing energy supplies such as upstream oil refining in the supply chain, and supplying essential materials to key downstream industries such as automotive and semiconductors.

“The business environment surrounding B&GM is facing a severe profit situation due to a gradual decline in demand in Japan caused by a declining population, while the construction of new large plants overseas continues. This situation is expected to continue for the next few years,” it said.

The B&GM business is currently in the “second phase” of its restructuring, according to Hashimoto. The company is working on downsizing its naphtha crackers and restructuring key products such as phenol, polyolefins, toluene diisocyanate (TDI), purified terephthalic acid and polyethylene terephthalate. It is also working to boost products such as high-performance polymers and catalysts.

Previously announced plant closures feature heavily in the restructuring plans. Mitsui is currently downsizing a TDI unit at Omuta, Japan, for completion in July, and will close a phenol line at Chiba, Japan, in the second half of this year. A polypropylene (PP) plant at Chiba will close in 2026, following the closure of a PP plant there in 2023.

The company said it is seeking to create “an optimal cracker production setup” and “reduce volatility and generate a more stable cash flow” with the separation and restructuring of the B&GM business.

According to Mitsui, for B&GM to operate independently, be internationally competitive and support Japanese industry, the company has decided to advance collaboration with other companies that have similar businesses and approaches. It also intends to integrate management resources to realize B&GM as a strong business entity in terms of human resources, technology, competitiveness, business foundations and other resources.

The B&GM business’s return on invested capital (ROIC) was negative, at -2%, in the fiscal year ended March 31. Mitsui aims to boost ROIC to 6.5% in the 2030 fiscal year. The company is also targeting operating profit of ?36 billion for the B&GM business in the 2030 fiscal year.

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Austria's OMV has signed and closed an agreement to sell its 5% stake in the Ghasha concession, located in the United Arab Emirates, to Lukoil Gulf Upstream LLCSPC, as per Interfax.

The cash consideration amounts to $594 million minus a $100 million transaction fee, OMV said. Consequently, Lukoil's stake in the project has increased to 10%.

The Ghasha concession was awarded in November 2018 for 40 years to develop previously untapped reserves across nine offshore oil and gas fields (Hail, Ghasha, Hair Dalma, Satah, Bu Haseer, Nasr, SARB, Shuweihat, and Mubarraz) in the Persian Gulf. The water depth across these fields reaches 24 meters, with locations approximately 40 km from shore. The projected production capacity exceeds 40 million cubic meters of gas and 120,000 barrels of oil and gas condensate per day. Gas from these fields could meet over 20% of the UAE's domestic demand. The Ghasha reserves feature high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. The project is expected to yield over 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas and 120,000 barrels of oil daily.

The concession participants include the operator, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), with a 70% stake; Eni with a 10% stake; and Indonesia's PTTEP with a 10% stake. Lukoil acquired its stake in the project for $214 million in October 2019.

In October 2023, ADNOC made the final investment decision (FID) for Hail and Ghasha and awarded two engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts. The offshore EPC contract is valued at approximately $8.2 billion, while the onshore contract amounts to $8.74 billion.

Three artificial islands have already been completed within the Ghasha concession area. Production was anticipated to commence this year.

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