TotalEnergies to shut Antwerp steam cracker end-2027

By America Hernandez

PARIS -French oil major TotalEnergies will shut its oldest steam cracker in Antwerp by end-2027, the company said on Tuesday, citing a "significant surplus of ethylene expected in Europe".

The unit shutdown will not result in layoffs, but 253 employees will be offered a retirement package or an internal transfer.

The chemical industry has been grappling with weak demand and high input costs in Europe in recent years, prompting several firms to close or convert units.

ExxonMobil Chemical France moved to close its steam cracker and petrochemical production at Port Jerome in the country's north last year, while last week chemical firms LyondellBasell and Covestro announced a permanent shutdown of some production units in the Netherlands.

Total said the cracker to be shut historically produced most of its ethylene for one major client, who declined to renew a contract expiring in 2027.

The French firm will maintain a more recently built steam cracker in operation whose ethylene is entirely consumed by Total's own industrial units in Antwerp and Feluy.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne at a results call in October acknowledged that "there are too many small refineries in Europe".

He said Total would examine its six sites in Europe and convert the weakest into biorefineries producing renewable fuels, as it has done with its La Mede and Grandpuits facilities.

The Antwerp site is already undergoing changes to begin producing sustainable aviation fuels this year, with plans to use green hydrogen made from Total's offshore wind farms to make more renewable transport fuels by 2027.

(Reporting by America Hernandez in Paris, Editing by Louise Heavens and Jan Harvey)