August 4, 2026 10:19

On 29 July, the Amsterdam District Court dismissed the damages claim brought by Shell Chemicals Europe against companies belonging to the Clariant, Celanese, Vestolit/Orbia and Westlake groups in connection with the breach of competition rules in the ethylene market established and sanctioned by the European Commission in 2020.
Shell was seeking more than €1.025 billion from the four defendants, plus interest.

According to Swiss chemicals group Clariant, the judges found no evidence that the exchange of information among ethylene buyers had harmed the market or affected the Monthly Contract Price (MCP), the monthly benchmark price for ethylene, causing the losses claimed by Shell. The court therefore dismissed the claim.

The judgment found that Shell had not sufficiently substantiated the alleged impact on the MCP and the resulting damages. Clariant reiterated that it has consistently maintained that the conduct in question had no effect on the market.

The decision concerns evidence of civil damages and does not call into question the antitrust infringement established by the European Commission. 

In a separate ruling, the court also dismissed a claim brought by Stichting Ethylene Claims, a claims vehicle used in civil litigation related to the ethylene cartel and acting on behalf of three Repsol companies. The organisation had sought a declaratory judgment on the liability of the companies involved and the subsequent assessment of damages.

However, the decisions do not bring all proceedings related to the case to an end. The Amsterdam District Court reported that five other cases remain pending, while Clariant said it would continue to defend itself vigorously in ongoing proceedings in the Netherlands and Germany.
Among the most recent actions is a claim filed by Dow Europe with the Dortmund Regional Court seeking approximately €1.1 billion in damages (read article).

THE FACTS. The investigation began in June 2016 with a leniency application submitted by Westlake, followed by unannounced inspections in May 2017. On 14 July 2020, the European Commission imposed total fines of €260 million on three major chemical groups - Orbia, formerly Mexichem, Clariant and Celanese - for breaching EU antitrust rules by participating in an ethylene purchasing cartel. The companies sought to obtain lower prices from suppliers by coordinating their negotiating strategies and exchanging price-related information.
All four companies acknowledged their participation in the infringement and their liability under the settlement procedure. Westlake was not fined because it disclosed the cartel to the Commission and received full immunity from fines.

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