The lawsuits, which seek a combined total of nearly €2 billion, are "follow-on" claims stemming from the 2020 European Commission antitrust ruling against an ethylene purchasing cartel.
On October 3, 2025, Clariant, a Switzerland-based specialty chemical company, publicly announced its formal receipt and strong rejection of two multi-billion Euro lawsuits filed the day prior. The claims were brought against four companies, including Clariant, by BP Europe SE and ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical B.V. The suits were filed in the courts of Munich and Dortmund, Germany, respectively, seeking compensation for alleged losses tied to a historic competition law infringement.
BP Europe SE is claiming damages of around €1.1 billion, while ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical B.V. is seeking approximately €860 million. The total financial exposure for this latest round of litigation alone amounts to approximately €1.96 billion (roughly $2.15 billion). Clariant has taken an uncompromising stance, stating that it "firmly rejects the allegations" and will "adamantly defend its position in the proceedings." The core of Clariant’s defense lies in its assertion that it possesses "substantiated economic evidence that the conduct of the parties did not produce any effect on the market." This position directly challenges the plaintiffs' argument that the alleged misconduct caused financial harm.
The current legal actions are a direct consequence of a decision by the European Commission (EC) announced on July 14, 2020. Following a four-year investigation, the EC concluded that four major ethylene purchasers—Clariant (Switzerland), Orbia (Mexico), Celanese (US), and Westlake (US)—had participated in a purchasing cartel.
The investigation revealed that the companies colluded between December 2011 and March 2017. Their anti-competitive conduct involved coordinating price negotiation strategies and exchanging price-related information during the process of establishing the Monthly Contract Price (MCP) for ethylene. Ethylene, a crucial raw material used in the production of plastics and other chemicals, is primarily sourced under supply agreements in key European territories, including Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, which often reference the MCP.
Unlike typical cartels where companies collude to increase selling prices, this was a purchasing cartel, where the objective was to push down the MCP to their advantage, thereby suppressing the purchase price of ethylene to the detriment of its sellers—like BP and ExxonMobil.
The EC settlement resulted in total fines of €260 million against the companies, with Westlake receiving full immunity for revealing the cartel. Clariant was hit with the largest penalty, a fine of approximately €155.8 million, which included an increase due to a prior competition law infringement.
The chemical group has previously received and rejected major damages claims from other industry players, including Dow Europe, BASF, Shell, TotalEnergies, OMV, and LyondellBasell. The cumulative value of these claims now reach into multiple billions of Euros.
