On Oct. 17, LyondellBasell formally stopped operation of its PP2 polypropylene plant at the Brindisi site in Italy. The unit, with nominal capacity of 230,000 tonnes per year, started up in 1982 and was the world's first industrial-scale Spheripol-process polypropylene line.
The direct cause of the shutdown was the loss of propylene feedstock. The Brindisi site has no integrated steam cracker and long relied on the nearby Eni Versalis Brindisi cracker for up to 220,000 tonnes per year of propylene, but that cracker was permanently shut in April 2025.
Feedstock then had to be shipped in from LyondellBasell's other Italian sites, and rising maritime logistics costs eroded margins, making the unit uneconomic.
European polyolefin demand has also weakened. Industry data showed significant contraction in PE and PP end demand in May, with purchasing largely stalled after panic restocking in March and April. Stretch film makers were running at only 50% and blown film producers at about 80-85%.
Italy's chemical union Uiltec disclosed that LyondellBasell had earlier offered the Brindisi PP2 unit for sale at a symbolic price but found no buyers. Europe's basic chemicals capacity rationalization cycle since 2024 has seen about 11 million tonnes per year of ethylene, propylene, PP, PE and vinyl chloride capacity shut or slated for closure, including about 965,000 tonnes per year of polypropylene.
