Financial markets are imminently awaiting news of whether highly leveraged LyondellBasell (Rotterdam / The Netherlands; www.lyondellbasell.com) has been able to successfully renegotiate its debts and whether it will file for bankruptcy protection. On 30 December 2008, the world’s third largest petrochemicals producer said it would consider filing for Chapter 11 under US bankruptcy laws. The deadline for debt settlement had been moved back from 29 December 2008 to 4 January 2009.

Bond market players are said to be betting on the latter option. Major rating agencies already have downgraded the company, which according to Standard & Poor's is carrying USD 26 bn in debt. Reports say LyondellBasell’s owner, Access Industries (New York / USA), the investment vehicle of Russian-born US investor Len Blavatnik, has denied a USD 750m revolving credit line for the company and that it has provisionally appointed a chief restructuring officer to handle a possible insolvency.

Alongside the petrochemicals market crash and the credit crunch, some sources are suggesting that potential creditors have withheld funding because of dissatisfaction with the slow pace at which synergies in the merger of the former Lyondell and Basell have been exploited. In November 2008, the merged company announced a12-18 month austerity programme to lower production costs, working capital and capital spending, which includes plant closures and capacity reductions as well as workforce reductions of 15% (see Plasteurope.com of 24.11.2008).