BASF achieves major milestones at Zhanjiang Verbund site: butyl acrylate plant start-up and mechanical completion of cracker and petrochemical plants

• Successful start-up of the Butyl Acrylate (BA) plant on August 11, 2025
• Mechanical completion reached for the steam cracker and all downstream petrochemical plants 
• World-scale site is on track for commissioning and full operational start-up by the end of 2025

Hong Kong SAR, China – October 6, 2025 – BASF has reached two significant milestones at its Zhanjiang Verbund site: the successful start-up of the butyl acrylate (BA) plant and the mechanical completion of the steam cracker and all integrated petrochemical plants. These achievements mark steady progress toward the site’s full operational start-up by the end of 2025, reinforcing BASF’s commitment to meeting the growing demand for high-quality petrochemical products across the Asia Pacific region.

The butyl acrylate plant commenced operations on August 11, 2025, ahead of schedule and with an exemplary safety record. The first shipment was successfully delivered via tanker trucks on August 17, 2025, marking the plant's inaugural customer delivery. With an annual capacity of approximately 400,000 metric tons, the plant further solidifies BASF’s leadership in the acrylics market, supplying essential materials to customers in the adhesives, industrial coatings, and architectural coatings industries.

Moreover, BASF has achieved mechanical completion of the steam cracker and all downstream petrochemical plants, including ethylene oxide, oxo alcohols, syngas, and high-density polyethylene, at the Zhanjiang Verbund site, transitioning the project from construction to operational readiness. This milestone ensures all systems are installed, connected, and tested, paving the way for commissioning and start-up activities scheduled for the end of 2025.

“The progress at the Zhanjiang Verbund site demonstrates BASF’s commitment to strengthening our presence in the Asia Pacific region and creating long-term value for our customers,” said Bir Darbar Mehta, Senior Vice President of Petrochemicals Asia Pacific at BASF. “This world-class integrated site will significantly enhance our production capabilities and supply chain resilience, enabling us to offer a broad portfolio of high-quality, reliable, and competitive solutions. With the site on track for start-up by end of 2025, we are well-positioned to fulfill the growing market needs and support our customers’ success with greater efficiency and shorter lead times.”

“The remarkable achievements at our Zhanjiang Verbund site reflect the close collaboration between BASF, our partners, and local authorities. Their strong support has been crucial for us to achieve these key milestones safely, efficiently, and ahead of schedule. With this solid foundation, we are poised to drive sustainable growth and deliver high-quality made in Zhanjiang products to customers in both local and global markets,” said Marko Murtonen, Senior Vice President, New Verbund Site China, BASF & General Manager, BASF Integrated Site (Guangdong) Co. Ltd.

Strategically located close to customers, the Zhanjiang Verbund site is a cornerstone of BASF’s strategy to drive growth in the petrochemicals industry across Asia Pacific. As a fully backward integrated complex, the site includes a steam cracker with an annual capacity of one million metric tons of ethylene, along with downstream petrochemical plants. These facilities are scheduled to begin operations by the end of 2025, providing a wide range of petrochemical products to cater to the diverse needs of industries across the region.

About BASF’s Petrochemicals division

The Petrochemicals division is the starting point for BASF’s petrochemical-based value chains globally. We operate a highly competitive asset base with best-in-class technologies and set the benchmark in safety, sustainability, operational excellence and cost competitiveness. With six Verbund sites and several major production sites, we are close to our customers and present in the largest chemical markets worldwide. The division supplies various value chains across the company and a broad range of customer industries with high-quality chemicals, putting our customers in the center of everything we do and contributing to the organic volume growth of BASF. Our portfolio includes cracker products, industrial gases, acrylics, superabsorbent polymers, styrenic foams, alkylene oxides, glycols, alcohols, solvents and plasticizers. In 2024, the Petrochemicals division generated sales to third parties of about €8 billion. Further information is available online at http://petrochemicals.basf.com. 

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. Our ambition: We want to be the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 112,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises, as core businesses, the segments Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, and Nutrition & Care; our standalone businesses are bundled in the segments Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €65.3 billion in 2024. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.