LyondellBasell and Covestro announce permanent closure of PO11 unit at Maasvlakte

LyondellBasell (LYB) and Covestro have jointly decided to permanently shut down the Propylene Oxide Styrene Monomer (POSM) production unit (PO11) at the Maasvlakte site in the Netherlands. This decision follows a thorough evaluation and is driven by ongoing profitability challenges at the facility. Factors such as global overcapacity, a surge in imports from Asia, and high European production costs have put sustained pressure on operations. With these conditions expected to persist, long-term profitable production is no longer feasible.

“While the decision to shut down the PO11 unit is difficult, we must ensure all assets within our portfolio are a long-term strategic fit,” said Aaron Ledet, executive vice-president, I&D and Supply Chain. “We are prioritizing our core assets which play a key role in our technology differentiation and circularity or provide attractive returns over the cost of capital. We take our obligations toward our employees, European employee reps, councils and unions seriously. We have engaged with them in line with these obligations and will continue to do so. We would like to thank them for the constructive dialogue. We are also in communication with customers, suppliers and other parties across the value chain and will continue to do business as usual. There is no change to our working relationship, and we continue to focus on providing an exceptional customer and supplier experience.”

“As part of our Sustainable Future Strategy, we’re continuously working to optimally position Covestro to be a reliable partner for our customers and to operate competitively in a challenging market environment,” said Hermann-Josef Dörholt, head of the Performance Materials Business Entity at Covestro. “Due to global overcapacities, persistently weak demand, and high costs in Europe, we have jointly decided with LYB to close the PO11 plant. We will support LYB in implementing this change as socially responsibly as possible. At the same time, we remain committed to the European market and will continue to supply customers with our renowned polyether polyols portfolio.” The Maasvlakte site, a joint venture between LYB and Covestro, has been operating in the Rotterdam region since 2003. LYB plans to safely shut down the facility and prepare it for demolition by the end of 2026.

In 2024, LYB initiated a strategic review of its European assets within the Olefins & Polyolefins (O&P) and Intermediates & Derivatives (I&D) business units. As part of this process, the company is exploring the possibility of transferring ownership of its O&P sites. However, no final decisions have been made, and multiple outcomes remain under consideration. Source: LyondellBasell