Ethylene prices gain in Asia

Last week, ethylene prices marched higher in the Asian region, as per Polymerupdate.

An industry source in Asia, requesting to remain unidentified, informed a Polymerupdate team member, "Asian ethylene prices have seen an increase lately, primarily due to constrained supply and limited availability of cargoes scheduled for September loading. Market participants indicated that local producers were running their production facilities at lower capacities because of both scheduled and unexpected maintenance, which further limited supply. Moreover, setbacks in replenishing stock and a reduced number of spot offers led to the restricted availability in the market. Consequently, purchasers had to agree to elevated prices to obtain the limited shipments, driving overall price levels higher. This positive outlook was additionally backed by consistent downstream demand from producers of polyethylene and styrene monomer, bolstering the strengthening price trend throughout the region.?

The source added, ?Even with the persistent supply constraints in the Asian ethylene market, purchasers have been opposing increased prices because of weak demand for essential downstream products like polyethylene (PE) and monoethylene glycol (MEG). Though constrained cargo availability and lower production rates have exerted upward pressure on ethylene prices, weak market fundamentals in the downstream sectors have dampened buyer interest. Numerous end-users are wary of rising procurement expenses due to the subdued consumption and weak margins in the PE and MEG markets. This resistance has created a degree of price fluctuation and unpredictability, as the market is stuck between limited supply and weak demand."

On Friday, FOB Korea ethylene prices were assessed at the USD 795-805/mt levels while FOB Japan ethylene prices were assessed at the USD 790-800/mt levels, both increased by USD (+10/mt) from the previous week.

CFR North East Asia ethylene prices were assessed at the USD 835-845/mt levels, a week on week rise of USD (+10/mt).

CFR South East Asia ethylene prices were assessed at the USD 825-835/mt levels, higher by USD (+10/mt) from the previous week.

In Southeast Asia, trading activity in the ethylene market stayed subdued, with few spot transactions recorded. Market players linked the slow trading to several reasons, such as weak demand from downstream sectors, especially polyethylene and monoethylene glycol, along with cautious buyer attitudes due to elevated price levels. Although there is a general supply constraint in the region, buyers in Southeast Asia stayed mostly passive, reluctant to engage in spot purchases unless prices indicated a potential decline. This muted trading atmosphere indicated persistent uncertainty in the market, as players balanced supply limitations with weak demand and macroeconomic challenges.

In plant news, Ningxia Baofeng Energy is likely to take off stream its No.3 coal-to-olefins (CTO) unit in September 2025. The exact duration of the shutdown has not been confirmed. Located in Ningxia, China, the No. 3 CTO plant has a methanol production capacity of 2.8 million mt/year, ethylene production capacity of 550,000 mt/year and propylene production capacity of 500,000 mt/year.

In other plant news, PetroChina Fushun Petrochemical has shut down its cracker for maintenance earlier this week. However, the exact date and duration of the shutdown could not be confirmed. Located in Liaoning, China, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 850,000 mt/year and propylene production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

In another plant news, Yeochun Naphtha Cracking Centre (YNCC) has shut down its No. 3 cracker on August 8, 2025, due to poor market conditions. The unit is likely to remain shut until there is a significant improvement in market conditions and margins. Located in Yeosu, South Korea, the No.3 cracker has ethylene production capacity of 470,000 mt/year and propylene production capacity of 270,000 mt/year.
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Agilyx ASA announces a third-party reviewed Product Carbon Footprint report of Styrenyx, Agilyx’s proprietary recycling technology, shows CO2 emissions can be cut by up to 86% by using depolymerization of waste polystyrene compared to fossil production, said the company.

To better assess the carbon footprint of Styrenyx, our advanced recycling, post-consumer waste circular styrene production, Agilyx commissioned Sphera Solutions, Inc. to perform a cradle-to-gate product carbon footprint (PCF) consistent with ISO 14067:2018 standards, and compare results to conventional production of styrene from fossil resources. As announced in March 2025, the results have now been reviewed by a third party, confirming that when Styrenyx uses renewable energy to recycle polystyrene (PS) to styrene, it can reduce up to 86% of carbon-equivalent emissions compared to fossil-based production. At minimum, Styrenyx can save 46% carbon-equivalent emissions when powered by a standard electrical grid. This is higher than the 38% savings originally reported in March 2025.

“Our advanced recycling technology not only enables a circular economy for plastic, it does so with lower-carbon impact. Investing in and choosing innovative solutions for plastic waste is essential for building the infrastructure needed for a lower-carbon, more sustainable future, and helps solve the plastic waste crisis”, said Chris Faulkner, Chief Technology Officer of Agilyx.

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China is in early talks to provide Malaysia with technical and technological support for rare earths processing, Reuters reported Aug. 28, citing Johari Abdul Ghani, Malaysia's minister of natural resources and environmental sustainability, as per Chemweek.

Chinese President Xi Jinping requested that only state-linked companies participate in the potential partnership, amid China's export restrictions on rare earths processing technology, the report said. China is a dominant player in the global supply chain of rare earth materials, which are used in electric vehicles, military equipment and semiconductor chips.

”Considering that technology safeguarding is of great importance to China, [Xi] requested that the cooperation only involve government-linked companies,” Johari was quoted as saying in a written parliamentary reply.

The potential rare earths collaboration with China would make Malaysia the only country to have both Chinese and non-Chinese processing technology, the Reuters report said. Malaysia is home to the Gebeng rare earths plant owned by Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths Ltd.

Malaysia hosts 16.1 million metric tons of rare earth deposits, the report said, citing a 2019 estimate by Malaysia’s Department of Minerals and Geosciences. The country prohibited the export of rare earth materials at the start of 2024.

The Chinese Embassy in Malaysia and Malaysia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability did not immediately respond to Platts’ requests for comment. Platts is part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.

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Pumping of Russian oil to Hungary via the Druzhba oil pipeline will be resumed on August 28, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said, as per Interfax.

"Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin informed me that after intensive work a temporary solution was found, so oil deliveries to Hungary can resume tomorrow in test mode at lower volumes," Szijjarto wrote on the social network.

He said that Hungary has enough commercial oil reserves, so the country will not need to take oil from its strategic reserves.

Szijjarto again urged the Ukrainian authorities to stop attacks on the oil pipeline, as this threatens the energy security of various countries.

As reported, on August 22, the Druzhba oil pipeline, which supplies oil to Hungary and Slovakia, was damaged in a section near the Russian-Belarusian border in a night strike by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In this regard, the supply of raw materials from Russia to these European countries has stopped. It was reported that it would take at least three days to resume the supply.

The Hungarian and Slovak foreign ministers have sent a letter to the European Commission urging them to guarantee the security of supplies.

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Sibur Holding PJSC (Moscow), Russia’s largest producer of petrochemicals, has produced the first test batch of hexene at its new 50,000 metric tons per year plant in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan, Russia, as per Chemweek.

The new plant is part of Sibur’s wider expansion of its petchem capacities at Nizhnekamsk, where it completed construction of its 600,000 metric tons per year EP-600 steam cracker in December 2024, as it targets increased output to meet Russian domestic demand. Hexene is a key polymer intermediate in the production of premium grades of polyethylene (PE).

Total project investment was put at 28.5 billion rubles ($317 million), Sibur said in an Aug. 28 announcement. The plant is currently in the startup and commissioning stage, with a phased ramp-up to full capacity planned during the third quarter of this year. The facility’s production is based on proprietary technology developed by Sibur and is Russia’s first domestic hexene plant, it said. Hexene for polymer production in Russia is currently imported, it noted.

The hexene produced will be supplied to the domestic market and also for export to the CIS and Asian countries, including China and India, and enable the production of more than 3 million metric tons per year (MMt/y) of high-grade PE, Sibur said.

Sibur first announced plans to build a hexene plant at its subsidiary Nizhnekamskneftekhim in September 2022, with the unit originally scheduled to start operations in the second half of 2024.

Sibur’s petchems complex at Nizhnekamsk is planned to eventually double its current ethylene capacity to 1.2 MMt/y of ethylene via a second naphtha cracker, to provide feedstock for new downstream derivative plants. The company has previously put its investment in the site’s first cracker at about $2.0 billion.

The Nizhnekamskneftekhim subsidiary already produces synthetic rubber, PE, polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and surfactants.

In May 2024, Sibur also announced plans to build an ethylbenzene (EB) and styrene unit, and a downstream PS plant with a combined production capacity of 1 MMt/y at Nizhnekamsk. Construction was scheduled to start this year, with total investment put at more than $2 billion, Sibur said at that time. Mechanical completion and commissioning of those plants is expected in 2028, it said.

The planned facilities will have annual nameplate capacities for 400,000 metric tons of styrene, 350,000 metric tons of EB and 250,000 metric tons of PS. Feedstock for the plants will be supplied by the EP-600 cracker.

In June this year, Sibur broke ground on a production plant for basic polymer catalysts at Kazan in Tatarstan. The plant is scheduled to start production in 2027.

Total production of PE and PP in 2024 in Russia and CIS countries was 7.9 million metric tons, according to Sibur in its June announcement.

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