California and several environmental groups sued ExxonMobil on Monday, accusing the oil giant of engaging in a decades-long campaign that contributed to global plastic waste pollution, as reported by US local media.

Speaking at an event during Climate Week in New York City, California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that the state sued Exxon after concluding a nearly two-year investigation, which he claimed showed Exxon was deliberately misleading the public about the limitations of recycling.

‘Plastics are everywhere, from the deepest parts of our oceans to the highest peaks on earth, and even in our bodies, causing irreversible damage—in ways known and unknown—to our environment and potentially our health,’ the California Attorney General has said in a news release on Monday. ‘For decades, ExxonMobil has been deceiving the public to convince us that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste and pollution crisis when they clearly knew this was not possible. ExxonMobil lied to further its record-breaking profits at the expense of our planet and possibly jeopardising our health.’

Bonta mentioned in April that he would investigate fossil fuel and petrochemical companies for their role in causing the plastic pollution crisis, but Monday's action was solely against Exxon. He indicated in a news conference announcing the lawsuit that others might be added, but Exxon was the largest producer of the building blocks of plastics.

The Attorney General specifically named Exxon's advanced recycling programme as being misleading. ‘Ninety-two percent of plastics in advanced recycling become transportation fuel—only a very small amount is recycled. Exxon can only recycle about 1% of its own plastic,’ he has stated.

A coalition of environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, filed a related lawsuit in the same state court in San Francisco, raising similar allegations against Exxon, Reuters reports.

Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem has disclosed its financial results for Q2 2024. Braskem's revenue for April—June 2024 amounted to $3.7 billion compared to $3.6 billion in Q2 2023, representing a 3% growth. Consolidated Recurring EBITDA for Q2 2024 was $320 million (BRL 1.7 billion), reflecting an increase from Q1 2024 (+39%) and Q2 2023 (+128%).

In Q2 2024, recurring EBITDA for Brazil/South America was $231 million (BRL 1.2 billion), marking a 185% increase compared to Q2 2023. The robust rise is attributed to a 35,000 t, or 4%, increase in resin sales in the Brazilian market. The average utilisation rate of petrochemical crackers decreased by 1% compared to Q2 2023, standing at 71%. Resin sales increased by 4% compared to Q2 2023, reaching 824,000 t, with exports rising by 2% to 174,000 t. The sales of main chemicals in the Brazilian market rose by 3% to 627,000 t compared to Q2 2023, while exports fell by 33% to 71,000 t. The utilisation rate of Green Ethylene decreased by 49% compared to Q2 2023, bottoming out at 35%.

In the United States and Europe, recurring EBITDA was $46 million (BRL 247 million), 108% higher than in Q2 2023. The average utilisation rate of petrochemical crackers decreased by 2% compared to Q2 2023. PP sales were down by 7% compared to Q2 2023, totalling 500,000 t in Q2 2024.

In Mexico, recurring EBITDA was $56 million (BRL 292 million). Compared to Q2 2023, recurring EBITDA in US dollars increased by 39%, mainly due to a 16% increase in the PE spread in the international market and a 20,000 t, or 9%, increase in PE sales. The average utilisation rate of PE plants decreased by 8% to 78% in Q2 2024. PE sales were up by 9% compared to Q2 2023.

The balance of corporate gross debt at the end of the quarter was $8.4 billion, down by 2% from the previous quarter, with 96% of maturities concentrated in the long term and 4% in the short term. The balance of net debt at the end of Q2 2024 was $5.6 billion, an increase of 6% compared to the previous quarter. According to the report, Braskem's current facilities usage remains suboptimal, hovering around 70—75%, well below the ideal range of 85—90%.

’Industry experts are evaluating the long-term viability of capacity recovery,’ CEO Roberto Bischoff has said. ’If optimisation proves unfeasible, alternative strategies must be explored.’ He added, ‘Sometimes, operational constraints leave no room for alternatives.’

The company's Chief Financial Officer, Pedro Freitas, noted last summer that Brazil's petrochemical industry was under significant pressure due to production costs much higher than those of other major chemical manufacturers. In his view, government policy to support the chemical industry has become indispensable.

Braskem expects resin prices to recover from 2026. Global prices for some of Braskem's key products, such as PE, PP and PVC, remain low. Despite some positive price signals at the start of 2024, the company anticipates another challenging year.

 

The BASF Group has published its results for Q2 2024. During this period, the group's sales amounted to €16.1 billion, which is €1.2 billion less than the previous year. This decline was primarily due to lower prices across all segments, especially in the Surface Technologies, as well as the negative impact of exchange rates. The company's EBITDA before special items remained unchanged at €2 billion, supported by strong performance in the Industrial Solutions, Chemicals and Nutrition and Care areas. However, the decrease in volumes and prices in the Agricultural Solutions segment and other areas limited overall profitability.

The report notes that special expenses are mainly related to the settlement of a lawsuit concerning aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) in the US and restructuring expenses.

Earnings per share for the group were €0,48, compared to €0,56, while adjusted earnings per share increased to €0,93.

Cash flow from operating activities fell to €2 billion and free cash flow decreased to €471 million, influenced by significant investments in new projects, particularly in China.

BASF continues to implement its expense-saving measures, which aim to achieve annual savings of €2.1 billion by 2026. Current measures are expected to save €800 million per year by the end of the year.