Iran war, debt crises, 30% freight surges: Latin America's petrochemical industry is running… – Industry & Global Market News Digest, 20 Mar 2026

Geopolitics & conflict

Iranian missiles hit Haifa refinery complex: northern Israel's power grid goes dark

Drone strike lights up Nevinomysskiy Azot: four fires, a chemical stench, and a governor's denial

Iran war, debt crises, 30% freight surges: Latin America's petrochemical industry is running out of runway

Trade & policy

India slaps $3,453/tonne reference duty on Chinese dye chemical: Deepak Nitrite drew first blood

EU hits Chinese phosphorous acid with 122.8% anti-dumping duty: protecting an €18M market with surgical precision

Korea's petrochemical giants merge Yeosu NCC operations: a last-ditch fight against China's oversupply

Yeosu's NCC operators submit restructuring plan: force majeure declarations signal an industry in freefall

Markets & pricing

BASF raises formic acid prices €250/tonne: effective immediately

BASF hikes neopentyl glycol prices by €350/tonne: coatings and lubricants customers brace for impact

Middle East conflict forces WACKER to hike polymer prices from April 1: Europe and Asia customers hit hardest

Adnoc and OMV delay $60B Borouge listing: Middle East war volatility forces the hand

Sustainability & recycling

Paris gets Europe's most ambitious plastics recycling plant: 15,000 tonnes of "unrecyclable" waste turned into feedstock yearly

GreenDot buys France's RG Group: 35 kta LDPE capacity and a foothold in Europe's eco-modulation gold rush

8100 second-graders vs. a nation's recycling gap: how Pittsburgh kids are putting Pennsylvania's 25% can recycling rate to shame

Aekyung Chemical ditches maleic anhydride to recycle its own waste gas: saving ?3 billion a year in the process

From Hyderabad dorm room to Ras Al Khaimah factory: BioReform replaced 15 million plastic bags and it's just getting started

Innovation & technology

Nuclear-powered petrochemicals: how a 932°F steam compressor could reshape the industry by 2027

Sika backs ETH Zurich's Living Lab HIL: the bet to reinvent sustainable construction by 2035

Clariant opens first US pharma-grade PEG plant in Clear Lake: shorter lead times, fewer supply chain nightmares for North American drug makers

Corporate moves

GC keeps Thailand's plastics lines running: Middle East crisis tightens naphtha supply

Archean Chemical merges two subsidiaries into one: simplifying the stack before building a 7 MMTPA salt jetty

Himadri Speciality Chemical holds its ground: IND A1+ rating affirmed on Rs.100 crore commercial paper