2026 Chemical Industry Centralized Overhaul Period Approaches! Is a Price Storm Brewing?

2026 Chemical Industry Centralized Maintenance Kicks Off! What Will Be Its Market Impact?

The operation of the chemical industry has its unique patterns, such as seasonality. The prices of some chemical products vary in different seasons, and the maintenance schedules of chemical enterprises also differ. Generally, the Chinese chemical marketThere are two concentrated maintenance periods annually., which are respectivelyMarch to May in the first half of the year and September to November in the second half of the year. During the maintenance period, changes in the supply side of the chemical market will occur, which will bring significant fluctuations to market prices.

The heavy maintenance season for the first half of 2026 is approaching. Which enterprises have already announced their maintenance schedules? What impact will this have on the prices in the Chinese chemical market?

2026In March, Tinci Materials, Jinling Petrochemical, Zhejiang Petrochemical, CNOOC Huizhou, Zhong'an United, Qingdao Lidong, Jiujiang Petrochemical Some units of the enterprise are scheduled for maintenance.

Tianci Materials plans to conduct maintenance on its liquid lithium hexafluorophosphate production line at the Longshan North Base from March 1st to 20th, 2026, lasting 20-30 days. This involves a liquid lithium hexafluorophosphate production capacity of 150,000 tons and a solid production capacity of 50,000 tons. This is an annual routine maintenance for Tianci Materials and will not affect other facilities.

Jinling Petrochemical's PX plant is scheduled for maintenance from March 6th to April 30th, 2026, lasting 56 days. The maintenance involves a PX production capacity of 600,000 tons and is one of Jinling Petrochemical's planned unit overhauls. It will directly impact upstream and downstream products, but the maintenance capacity is not significant, and it is expected to have a limited impact on the market.

Zhejiang Petrochemical plans to carry out maintenance on its PX units from March to early April 2026. The maintenance is expected to last 35-45 days and involves capacities of 2 million tons and 2.5 million tons. Normal operations are preliminarily expected to resume in mid-to-late April or May. This plan is one of Zhejiang Petrochemical's publicly announced maintenance schedules, and other units are also expected to undergo maintenance simultaneously. Given the large scale of the involved units, this will have a short-term impact on market prices, particularly for PX and PTA.

CNOOC Huizhou's PX plant is scheduled for maintenance from March to mid-May 2026, lasting approximately 50 days and affecting a capacity of 1.5 million tons. This maintenance plan is a significant project for CNOOC in the second quarter. Notably, it overlaps with the maintenance schedule of Zhejiang Petrochemical, which may lead to substantial market price fluctuations. In addition to the PX unit, the maintenance may also involve fertilizer and related projects.

▶▶Zhong'an United's PE unit is scheduled for maintenance in March 2026. This project is one of the important maintenance projects in East China, but it involves a small production capacity and is not expected to have a significant impact on market expectations.

Qingdao Lidong's PX plant is scheduled for maintenance from the end of March to the beginning of May 2026, involving a PX production capacity of 1 million tons. The maintenance is planned to restart in May 2026. Due to the large capacity involved, it may directly impact PX market price fluctuations.

2026In April, some units of enterprises such as Yangzi Petrochemical, Tianjin Petrochemical, Hainan Refinery, CNOOC Zhoushan Petrochemical, Zhejiang Zhenli, Yanchang Refining, Tianjin Bohua, and Yisheng Hainan are scheduled for maintenance.

Yangzi Petrochemical plans to conduct maintenance on its PX plant from April to June 2026. The specific duration has yet to be finalized. The maintenance involves a production capacity of 600,000 tons and will affect other units within Yangzi Petrochemical. This is a key maintenance project for Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical, but it will not impact the normal operation of the overall facility.

Tianjin Petrochemical's PX plant is scheduled for maintenance from April to June 2026. This involves a PX capacity of 390,000 tons, with an initial maintenance period exceeding 50 days. This is part of Tianjin Petrochemical's normal maintenance plan and will directly impact its upstream and downstream operations. However, due to the relatively small scale of the capacity involved in the maintenance, it is not expected to directly affect market price fluctuations.

Hainan Refinery's PX unit is scheduled for maintenance in April, with a duration of approximately 35 days. This maintenance will involve a PX capacity of 660,000 tons, though the specific dates are yet to be determined. This plan is part of Hainan Refinery's annual minor maintenance schedule and will have a short-term impact on its upstream and downstream industries, as well as short-term fluctuations in the PX price in the South China market.

CNOOC Zhoushan Petrochemical plans to carry out maintenance in April 2026, involving units such as heavy oil cracking (delayed coking), sulfur recovery, distillate hydrotreating, aromatics extraction, aromatization (continuous reforming), thermal energy units, and tank farms. This maintenance plan is a joint major overhaul plan for Daxie Petrochemical and Zhoushan Petrochemical, which will directly impact related products in the Yangtze River Delta region in the short term, and the possibility of price increases cannot be ruled out.

▶▶Zhejiang Zhenli's styrene unit is scheduled to undergo maintenance starting on April 20, 2026, for a period of 22 days. This is a defect elimination maintenance plan, involving a styrene production capacity of 620,000 tons. The maintenance plan involves a relatively short cycle but a large scale, which may have some impact in the short term.

▶▶The planned turnaround of the styrene plant at Sinopec is scheduled to begin in April 2026, with a maintenance period of 45 days. It is initially expected to be completed in May. The styrene capacity involved is 120,000 tons. The main purpose of this turnaround is to replace the catalyst. The relatively small capacity involved is not expected to have a significant impact on the market.

Tianjin Bohua's styrene plant is scheduled for an overhaul starting in April 2026, with a preliminary plan to resume operations by the end of May. This involves a styrene production capacity of 450,000 tons and may affect other facilities at Tianjin Bohua.

2026In May, Zhongyuan Petrochemical plans to conclude the long-term maintenance of its ethylene unit, while companies including Jiangsu Hongwei, Zibo Junchen, Taiwan Nanya Plastics, Yanshan Petrochemical, Fushun Petrochemical, and Sinopec Mitsubishi plan to undergo scheduled maintenance.

In October 2025, Zhongyuan Petrochemical started a maintenance plan for its No. 1 ethylene unit, No. 2 ethylene unit, and LLDPE unit, involving 280,000 tons of ethylene. This maintenance plan is expected to end by the end of May 2026, with production resuming in June. This maintenance is a long-cycle comprehensive overhaul for Zhongyuan Petrochemical and is expected to have a certain impact on the supply of ethylene and polyethylene in the North China region.

Jiangsu Hongwei's styrene plant is planning a turnaround in May-June 2026. This turnaround is a major overhaul of the entire plant and will last for two months.

Zibo Junchen's styrene plant is scheduled for maintenance in May 2026. The maintenance will involve a capacity of 500,000 tons and is aimed at catalyst replacement. The specific maintenance dates are yet to be determined.

Nanya Plastics' #1 and #2 MEG units in Taiwan, China, are scheduled to undergo maintenance starting in May 2026. The maintenance involves a total capacity of 720,000 tons and is expected to last for 30 days, which may have a short-term impact on the supply of ethylene glycol in the East and South China markets.

Yanshan Petrochemical plans to overhaul its ethylene glycol, phenol/acetone, and other units in May 2026. Related product output will be halted to coordinate with the overhaul. The overhaul period and duration are yet to be determined. This is a routine maintenance, and no direct impact on the surrounding market is expected.

Fushun Petrochemical's methanol and butadiene units are scheduled for maintenance in May 2026, with a preliminary plan to resume operations in June. The relevant units will also be shut down for maintenance during this period.

Sinopec Mitsubishi Petrochemical's multiple chemical production units are scheduled for maintenance in May 2026. The specific units and maintenance duration have not yet been announced, but this could be a major overhaul plan for Sinopec Mitsubishi after many years. This will likely lead to a short-term supply shortage and may have some impact on the surrounding market in the short term.

Among the maintenance plans announced so far, most companies are scheduled for maintenance between April and May 2026, with PX involving a capacity of over 9 million tons, styrene over 1.6 million tons, and ethylene glycol over 1 million tons. Although the currently announced maintenance plans are not expected to cause significant supply pressure on the market, the positive impact of short-term supply shortages may still become the main driving force for market price increases.