Hanwha TotalEnergies Petrochemical or HTC has declared force majeure on paraxylene supply due to supply and delivery disruptions of raw materials required for production amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, according to a company notice dated April 13 and seen by OPIS.

The company reduced production rates in March. While existing inventories have been leveraged to maintain output, the prolonged disruption of raw materials has exhausted these reserves. Consequently, PX supply capacity is expected to contract substantially starting in May.

The length of the forced majeure cannot be determined due to evolving circumstances in the region, but HTC is "closely monitoring the situation" and will keep customers informed of any significant progress, it added.

In a letter notifying customers on April 1 of the curtailed production since March, which was seen by OPIS, the firm said that further output cuts or partial shutdowns could be considered. Information on HTC's current run rate could not be determined.

HTC operates two PX plants with a combined capacity of 1.94 million metric tons per year in Seosan, South Korea, comprising a 1.17 million mt/year unit and a 770,000 mt/year unit.

PX supply in Asia has tightened considerably since the beginning of the current Middle East conflict, with the onset of annual maintenance season starting from March and disruption in feedstock naphtha supply adding to the crunch. S-Oil Corp. 740,000 mt/year plant and Ulsan Aromatics' 1 million mt/year plant, both in Ulsan, South Korea, were both taken offline for maintenance in March.

Elsewhere in Asia, several Chinese PX plants have also commenced their annual maintenance shutdown. These include Qingdao Lidong Chemical's 1 million mt/year plant in Qingdao, which was taken offline for maintenance in March. In addition, Sinopec Jinling's 600,000 mt/year plant in Nanjing and Formosa Chemical & Fiber Corp. 910,000 mt/year plant in Mailiao, are both set to commence turnarounds on Wednesday.

While South Korea's PX inventory data is unavailable, the continuous drawdown of Chinese PX inventories since the beginning of the March has resulted in production cuts of downstream Chinese purified terephthalic acid or PTA plants. According to an industry source, Chinese PX inventory stood at 3.61 million mt on April 10, down 2% week on week, while average Chinese PTA plants operating rates fell by 2.4 percentage points over the same period to 76.6%.

Amid the tightening supply, PX prices peaked at $1,339.33/mt CFR China on March 9 before settling at $1,203.67/mt CFR China on April 14, down 5.9% week on week, OPIS data shows.

Shipping constraints are expected to worsen following the U.S. blockade which began on April 11, further limiting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. According to Kpler shipping data, only six vessels transited the narrow waterway on April 14.

Naphtha prices have reacted in an upward trend. The CFR Japan naphtha price closed at $1,037/mt on April 14 -- down $37/mt on the day, but still nearly double its pre-crisis level, according to OPIS data.

In response to rising costs, South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources announced on March 31 that it would subsidize half of the increase in naphtha import prices for petrochemical companies operating naphtha cracking facilities, as part of a KRW 469.5 billion ($350 million) subsidy package.

More than 70% of South Korea's naphtha is sourced from the Middle East to feed its massive petrochemical sector.

This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

--Reporting by Serena Seng, sseng@opisnet.com and Yiwen Ju, yju@opisnet.com; Editing by Mei-Hwen Wong, mwong@opisnet.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 15, 2026 03:01 ET (07:01 GMT)

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