MUMBAI (ICIS)–India’s Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals (GNFC) plans to set up a 163,000 tonne/year ammonium nitrate (AN) melt project for Indian rupees (Rs) 4.5 billion ($50 million) at its complex at Bharuch in the western Gujarat state, a company source said on Thursday.

The new plant, which will almost double the company’s AN melt capacity to 338,000 tonnes/year is expected to commence operations by July 2027.

The company already operates a 175,000 tonne/year AN melt plant at its Bharuch complex.

“This project is a downstream project. The upstream projects for this were approved last year,” the source said, adding that work is ongoing to increase the company’s ammonia and nitric acid capacities.

The company is currently in the process of setting up a 200,000 tonne/year weak nitric acid (WNA) plant and is increasing its ammonia capacity by 50,000 tonnes/year at its Bharuch complex.

GNFC can currently produce 347,000 tonnes/year of WNA and 445,500 tonnes/year of ammonia at its Bharuch complex as per the company website.

Separately, the company is also exploring the possibility of building a 150,000 tonne/year bisphenol A (BPA) plant and a 100,000 tonne/year polyols unit, the company source said.

GNFC is currently conducting market surveys and feasibility studies for the two projects, he added.

($1= Rs89.23)

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Rates for shipping containers from east Asia and China to the US fell significantly week on week as available capacity continues to outstrip demand, according to shipping analysts.

Rates from global logistics company Freight Right on its TrueFreight Index (TFX) experienced significant weekly decreases, as shown in the following chart.

Robert Khachatryan, founder and CEO of Freight Right Logistics, said spot rates to the West Coast continued their rapid decline this week, now falling to the $1,350-1,500/FEU (40-foot equivalent unit) range, with some carrier-specific lows touching $1,350/FEU.

“This marks the fifth or sixth consecutive weekly drop, driven by slow demand and an extremely short holiday week in the US,” Khachatryan said.

Rates to the East Coast also fell, now averaging about $1,900/FEU, shrinking the typical spread between West and East Coast from $800-900/FEU to just $600-700/FEU.

“Both lanes are effectively at or near their ‘rock-bottom’ levels for the year,” Khachatryan said. “The market anticipated declines in late November, but not to this extreme, and not at month-end heading into December.”

Rates to the West Coast from online freight shipping marketplace and platform provider Freightos plunged by 32% from the previous week and fell by 8% to the East Coast.

Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, said rates remain slightly above the low for the year, hit in early October.

“The current overcapacity on the East-West lanes is the main reason that carriers’ November transpacific GRIs (general rate increases) – which had pushed West Coast rates up by $1,000/FEU this month to about $3,000/FEU – have now fizzled,” Levine said.

Market intelligence group Linerlytica said the outlook for the rest of the year remains gloomy as TEU-mile (20-foot equivalent unit-mile) demand growth has slipped below the growth in vessel supply.

“Carriers’ reluctance to withdraw capacity during the slack winter season has hurt freight rates across key routes with the transpacific rates facing the greatest stress,” Linerlytica said.

Container ships and costs for shipping containers are relevant to the chemical industry because while most chemicals are liquids and are shipped in tankers, container ships transport polymers – such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which are shipped in pellets. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is also shipped in containers.

They also transport liquid chemicals in isotanks.

LIQUID TANKER RATES TO BRAZIL SURGE
US chemical tanker trade lanes were overall unchanged this week for most routes, while vessel demand continues to remain soft. Overall, the spot market was quiet due to a holiday shortened trading week.

One exception is rates for the USG to Brazil trade as they perk up and as interest to this region remains steady, supported by steady COA (contract of affreightment) volumes.  Space is becoming very tight until the end of the year, keeping rates firm in this direction.

USG to ARA remains muted for spot and solid for contractual cargoes and as CPP (clean petroleum products) tonnage continues to participate in the chemical sector. The market to this region has had a few new inquiries, but COA volumes have increased, supporting the trade lane. If it persists, it could continue to pressure the market even further.

For the USG to Asia, there seems to be limited available space as COA volumes remain strong. Due to the lack of any new spot fixtures rates remain unchanged. Although, if this should persist, rates could be pressured upward. There seems to be interest in December for the usual parcels of glycol, methanol, and ethanol.

Bunker prices remain lower mainly due to the continued plunge in energy prices week on week.

Additional reporting by Kevin Callahan

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PODCAST: Use scenario planning to estimate China impact on chemicals

Will Beacham

26-Nov-2025

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–HD Hyundai Chemical and its joint venture (JV) owners HD Hyundai Oilbank and Lotte Chemical have agreed to consolidate their naphtha cracker center (NCC) facilities, the firms said in separate regulatory filings on Wednesday.

The companies have submitted a business restructuring plan application to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) for approval, they said.

Lotte will transfer its Daesan facilities to a company under HD Hyundai Chemical, which will contribute cash to create a 50:50 JV.

Currently, HD Hyundai Oilbank holds 60% of HD Hyundai Chemical’s equity, while Lotte Chemical holds 40%.

“Following the merger, the consolidation of petrochemical production functions within the Daesan Industrial Complex is expected to enhance the consistency and operational stability of production processes, thereby strengthening the overall effectiveness of the restructuring initiative,” the firms said.

Government support may vary depending on the results of MOTIE’s review process, Lotte Chemical added.

According to Korean newspaper The Chosun Daily, Lotte Chemical plans to shut its 1.1 million tonnes/year cracker at Daesan, as part of the restructuring plan, leaving HD Hyundai Chemical’s 850,000 tonnes/year cracker in Daesan in operation.

This will cut total ethylene output at the complex by around 23%, it reported quoting company officials.

NEED FOR YEOSU TO RESTRUCTURE
During a visit to Yeosu on Wednesday, Minister of Trade and Industry Kim Jung-kwan warned that the end-of-year deadline for restructuring plans to be submitted was approaching, following which petrochemical firms would be denied government support.

“The deadline for submitting business restructuring plans, announced by the government in August, is the end of December, and there are no plans to extend this deadline,” Kim said.

In August, 10 petrochemical firms – LG Chem, Lotte Chemical, SK geo centric, Hanwha TotalEnergies Petrochemical, Korea Petrochemical, Hanwha Solutions, DL Chemical, GS Caltex, HD Hyundai Chemical and S-Oil – agreed to cut their overall annual naphtha cracking capacity by up to 3.7 million tonnes.

Kim emphasized that restructuring at Yeosu, which is South Korea’s largest petrochemical complex, is critical if the petrochemical industry is to survive, and if  firms at Yeosu follow behind Daesan’s restructuring plans promptly, it could ensure the overall industry’s survival.

LG Chem, Lotte Chemical, GS Caltex and Hanwha Solutions are among the firms considering restructuring plans at Yeosu.

Due to downturns in petrochemical and steel sectors harming local economies, the government has labeled Yeosu and Seosan – home to Daesan – as industrial crisis zones.

Upon submission, restructuring plans will be reviewed for detail and self-help viability, with approvals followed by tailored support packages from the government.

Soon, the government will also release a roadmap for shifting to high-value specialty chemicals, including priority R&D funding for participating firms.

(Recasts lead, paragraphs 7-8 for clarity)

Thumbnail image: South Korea Busan Port – 7 March 2023 (Source: CHINE NOUVELLE/SIPA/Shutterstock)

Opposition to UP-NS rail merger grows as 60 industry groups urge regulator to block deal

Adam Yanelli

25-Nov-2025

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Opposition to a proposed merger between Class 1 railroads Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) continues to mount after a letter from 60 industry groups urged the federal regulator to thoroughly scrutinize the deal.

The group consists of trade associations, chambers of commerce and businesses representing vital sectors of the economy who worry that the merger offers the potential for widespread economic harm.

“Reliable and affordable freight rail service is essential to maintaining US manufacturing strength, supporting energy security and ensuring reliable supply chains,” the group said.

“Given the potential for widespread economic harm, it is essential that the Surface Transportation Board (STB) proceed with great care,” the group said. “The creation of a transcontinental railroad must not come at the expense of competition, service reliability or the broader health of the US supply chain.”

The letter was sent as the American Chemistry Council (ACC), which also opposes the merger, said the railroads are getting closer to submitting the merger application to the STB.

When the deal was announced in late July, UP and NS executives said it would take up to six months to file the application with STB, which will then begin its 16-month review process.

Executives said they expect the deal to close in early 2027.

This letter follows several others from various groups who all oppose the deal for similar reasons – fear that the merger would lead to fewer railroads and thus fewer transportation options.

“History has shown that increased rail consolidation leads to fewer choices, higher transportation costs, service disruptions and reduced economic competitiveness,” the group of 60 said.

UP-NS MERGER BENEFITS
UP and NS executives believe that the deal will improve service for its customers.

UP CEO Jim Vena and NS president and CEO Mark George said when making the announcement that the combined network will span more than 50,000 miles across 43 states, serving 10 international gateways with Mexico and Canada and will operate from 100 ports, as shown in the following map.

Railroad executives said the merger will improve single-line service, address underserved areas like the Ohio Valley and the Mississippi River watershed, and enhance competition.

Customers of the combined railroad will benefit from faster transit times, increased reliability and improved customer asset utilization, the executives said.

In the US, chemical rail car loadings represent about 20% of chemical transportation by tonnage, with trucks, barges and pipelines carrying the rest.

Chemicals are generally shipped in tank cars (liquids and liquefied gases), hopper cars (dry commodities); and some boxcars (dry bulk or packaged chemical products).

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INSIGHT: COP30 ends in acrimony as fossil fuel roadmap collapses, financing falls short (part 1)

Jonathan Lopez

25-Nov-2025

SAO PAULO (ICIS)–The UN’s climate summit COP30 held in Belém ended with the nearly 200 countries taking part unable to agree – once again – on a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, while rich nations keep falling short of the financing needed to help developing countries to cope with rising temperatures.

COP30 in the Amazonian city of Belém was meant to accelerate the transition away from oil, coal and gas following the historic pledge made at COP28 in Dubai two years ago.

Instead, the final eight-page communiqué avoided any explicit reference to the words “fossil fuels,” marking what many delegates and climate activists described as a devastating setback in the fight against global warming.

“We needed to show society that we want this without imposing anything on anyone,” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said.

“But we are serious – we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We need to start thinking about how to live without fossil fuels.”

The summit’s collapse came as global emissions from fossil fuels hit record levels in 2025, with climate scientists warning the world is on track for 2.6 to 3.1 degrees Celsius of warming by 2100 – far beyond the 1.5C target set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

This is the first part of this Insight article. The second part to be published on Wednesday (26 November) will verse about Latin America’s specific policies and fossil fuels positionings, focusing in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia.

FOSSIL FUEL ROADMAP DERAILED
More than 80 countries, including Colombia, the UK, Germany and Kenya, had backed a formal roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels. France, Colombia, Germany and Kenya led the diplomatic effort, aiming to build a coalition of 100 nations from the nearly 200 delegations present.

The EU proposed a flexible, “non-prescriptive” framework that would not oblige members to follow any particular path.

“Our priority for the coming days is to broaden this coalition, to speak to all the countries that believe we need to move forward and accelerate on this issue,” a source from the French delegation said.

But fierce opposition from major oil-producing states, led by Saudi Arabia, and an estimated 70 countries ultimately blocked the initiative. The strong language to “phase out fossil fuels” adopted in Dubai in 2023 did not reappear in the final text.

In a weak compromise, COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago promised to create a roadmap over the next year, but outside the framework of the formal COP summit process rather than formally adopting it at this summit.

Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva had expressed support for a roadmap “because it lays the foundation for a fair and planned transition” away from polluting fuels, while German state-secretary for climate action Jochen Flasbarth said his country would support any roadmap decision.

“We need an actionable outcome, not another roadmap to nowhere,” Jasper Inventor, deputy program director at Greenpeace International, said in a statement.

RECORD FOSSIL FUEL LOBBY PRESENCE
The push for a fossil fuel roadmap was undermined by an unprecedented concentration of industry representatives at the summit.

An estimated 1,602 delegates with links to oil, coal and gas attended COP30, including representatives of energy majors ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies, as well as state-owned oil firms, according to analysis from Kick Big Polluters Out, a coalition of 450 organizations.

One in every 25 participants at the conference was tied to the oil and gas sector, the highest concentration ever at UN climate talks. The lobbyists outnumbered the delegations of every country except Brazil and had two-thirds more conference passes than the 10 most climate-vulnerable countries combined.

This figure has risen sharply from 500 attendees with fossil fuel ties at the Glasgow COP summit five years ago.

At least 600 lobbyists held special party overflow badges, allowing them to remain in closed negotiation rooms without speaking rights.

France’s delegation of 449 included at least 22 people linked to the fossil fuels sector, including five TotalEnergies executives, among them CEO Patrick Pouyanne.

“It is clear we cannot solve a problem by giving power to those who caused it,” said Jax Bongon, from IBON International in the Philippines.

“Yet 30 years and 30 COP summits later, more than 1,500 fossil fuel lobbyists walk through the climate negotiations as if nothing had happened.”

In a letter dated 1 October, 225 environmental organizations urged the COP30 presidency to stop inviting major polluters into the talks, arguing that “big polluters should not have access to climate policy making” and that allowing industry representatives lets them “continue to influence and undermine the international response.”

TotalEnergies’ CEO Pouyanné expressed skepticism about a roadmap, calling it a “European vision” and suggesting more government regulation was not the answer. Speaking to Germany’s DW news, he said he was not in Belem as a lobbyist and had been invited to COP30.

TotalEnergies was found guilty two weeks ago by a French court of misleading commercial practices over claims it could reach carbon neutrality by 2050 while increasing oil and gas production.

US ABSENCE CASTS SHADOW
The absence of the US, whose President is a climate change denier and for the second time withdrew his country from climate accords, cast a long shadow over the proceedings.

The White House sent no representatives to Belém, and the US Energy Secretary Chris Wright went as far as condemning COP30 as “harmful and misguided” because it does not improve humanity’s prospects, in his view.

“It’s essentially a hoax. It’s not an honest organization looking to better human lives,” he said, defying global scientific consensus on climate change.

He added he might attend next year’s summit “just to try to deliver some” common sense.

China, as the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and the emerging leader in green energy technology, also played a muted role at the event.

CLIMATE FINANCE FALLS SHORT
Deep fractures over climate finance exposed a widening gulf between developed and developing nations.

Rich countries committed to triple “adaptation finance” by 2035 – roughly $120 billion of the $300 billion climate finance goal will now be dedicated to adaptation measures in the most vulnerable countries.

However, the timeline extends five years longer than what developing nations say is needed, and the overall amount falls far short of the hundreds of billions demanded by poorer countries facing the worst impacts of climate change.

“We’re not looking at any increases in adaptation finance,” Irish climate minister Darragh O’Brien said.

Pakistan’s Aisha Humera Moriani said it was “extremely important that we find something on the operationalization of that $300 billion.”

Island state nations are increasingly panicking as they face the now almost certain prospect of their countries disappearing under the waves.

The group called Small Island Developing States joined the coalition pushing for the fossil fuel roadmap, but their voices were drowned out by larger economies with fossil fuel interests.

Brazil’s development bank BNDES and the environment ministry secured Brazilian reais (R) 8.84 billion ($1.67 billion) in reimbursable commitments for the Climate Fund during the summit, the bank said.

Germany’s KfW, France’s Agence Française de Développement and Italy’s Cassa Depositi e Prestiti agreed to provide €1 billion by 2027, while the Inter-American Development Bank will supply a further $500 million over the same period.

DEFORESTATION FUND DISAPPOINTS
One of Brazil’s star proposals was the so-called Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), which was established to support rainforest conservation worldwide, but the commitments fell far short of the tens of billions Brazil was hoping for.

Six nations committed approximately $5.5 billion. Norway pledged $3 billion over 10 years, Brazil and Indonesia each committed $1 billion, France indicated up to €500 million through 2030 subject to conditions, Portugal committed $1 million, and the Netherlands allocated $5 million for administrative costs, according to official statements.

The TFFF targets $25 billion in public capital and $100 billion from private investors to generate approximately $4 billion annually for tropical forest nations maintaining deforestation rates below global averages.

The World Bank will administer the blended-finance mechanism, which guarantees at least 20% of proceeds to indigenous peoples and local communities.

Colombia qualifies amongst 74 eligible nations covering approximately 1 billion hectares of tropical forest, provided it maintains deforestation metrics below the worldwide mean.

The UK may reconsider participation in the facility following its annual budget to be approved this week, despite initially declining to join the $125 billion conservation mechanism.

Germany endorsed the facility without specifying its financial contribution, with officials indicating the amount would be determined during discussions between President Lula and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, according to Brazil’s Foreign Ministry.

Norway in particular has tied its contribution to a commitment by more countries also joining the initiative.

BNDES and the environment ministry also announced five credit operations totaling R912 million for projects to restore native vegetation in the Amazon, the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest.

Private companies working on land recovery and sustainable farming will restore more than 86,000 hectares, though the bank did not specify timelines.

Brazil is at the epicenter of global deforestation, accounting for 60% of global forests. According to data from the World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch, the world lost over 26 million hectares of primary tropical forest between 2015 and 2023. Of this, more than one-third – approximately 9.3 million hectares – occurred in Brazil alone. Increased logging, mining, cattle ranching and soy production is to blame.

The Amazon region is nearing a “tipping point” at which forest loss could become irreversible, according to a 2022 study published in Nature Climate Change.

Since taking office in January 2023, President Lula has introduced measures to combat illegal deforestation, but his government recently approved oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon river, an environmentally sensitive area.

BRAZIL’S CONTRADICTORY STANCE
The host nation’s position reflected the summit’s central tensions. President Lula, who has positioned himself as a climate advocate, urged world leaders to end fossil fuel dependence even as his government approved new oil projects.

Brazil’s first lady, Janja Lula da Silva, articulated the government’s pragmatic stance during a panel in the federal government pavilion.

“We can’t believe that next week, as soon as COP ends, we’re going to stop using fossil fuels. That’s not a reality yet. We need to build a roadmap. And the Brazilian government, President Lula, is making this proposal, and we have been talking about it very intensely,” she said.

Lula stated at the end of October that Brazil “will not throw away” the wealth generated by oil and announced during the COP30 Leaders’ Summit the creation of a specific fund to allocate part of oil exploration profits to renewable energy investment.

FROM PREVENTION TO ADAPTATION
Perhaps the most significant shift at COP30 was the change in focus from prevention to adaptation. The hallmark of the 2015 Paris summit was the adoption of a concrete plan to prevent temperatures from rising above 1.5C above the pre-industrial benchmark.

COP30 in effect was an admission that goal has failed and going forward the work will be all about mitigating the damage that is going to be caused.

After temperatures last year were over 1.5C above the pre-industrial benchmark in every month of the year, the climate crisis is already here.

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the effort to hold temperature increases to 1.5C has already failed and the planet is on course to see temperatures increase to a catastrophic 2.7C to 3.1C that lead to unpredictable results and positive feedback loops that could lead to runaway warming.

The climate crisis is accelerating, and temperatures are rising faster than even the most pessimistic models set up by the IPCC.

When former German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Putin in Moscow in 2018 to negotiate energy deals, she told him that the EU would have completely phased out gas use by 2025.

Amongst other things, the AI revolution has completely changed the energy calculus and demand for power is set to accelerate at an extraordinary rate.

Already worsening storms, floods, droughts and fires pose huge risks, especially to developing countries and small island states.

The summer in the northern hemisphere this year was marked by the strongest hurricanes ever seen in the Caribbean that ripped through Jamaica.

As the event came to an end, the Iranian government announced Tehran must be evacuated and abandoned as it has run out of water and is no longer viable as a city for human life.

PATTERN OF FAILURE
COP30 follows a pattern of failure at recent climate summits. The UAE’s COP28 was criticized after the oil-rich Arab state used the event to sign oil and gas deals on the sidelines, and Azerbaijan’s COP29 made only a lukewarm attempt to get major fossil fuel countries to even talk about the issues.

“This was a challenging summit, with many countries saying opinions are more divided now than for a long time, as global leaders including US President Donald Trump challenge the global consensus on tackling climate change,” officials said in closing remarks.

After Lula failed to broker a climate deal at the conference early on 19 November, he tried to sound optimistic, telling reporters: “I am so happy that I leave here certain that my negotiators will have the best result a COP could have ever offered to Planet Earth.”

But Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, told DW ahead of COP30 that the summit included “so many strong voices that want to avoid the elephant in the room” – fossil fuels.

Advances on other major COP30 issues such as forest protection or adaptation finance “can only be celebrated if we also see progress” on the phase-out of fossil fuels, concluded Rockström.

COP31 is to take place in Turkey but co-hosted by Australia where some high-level meetings are set to take place.

The same divisions will likely persist between oil-oriented countries and those seeking to diminish reliance on fossil fuels, and those that are divided – such as Brazil, Latin America’s main oil producer and also a would-be climate leader.

The second part of this Insight article to be published on Wednesday will verse about Brazil’s contradictions as well as two other Latin American oil producing countries which are adopting diverging policies: Colombia and Mexico.

Front page picture source: COP30 press services

Insight article by Jonathan Lopez