Asia’s refinery and petrochemical expansion – long viewed as the world’s fastest-growing downstream market — may now face a structural geopolitical risk: the legal and financial destabilisation of Italian engineering giant Tecnimont, one of the region’s most influential EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contractors.
This comes from the escalating confrontation between Russia’s fertilizer giant EuroChem and Tecnimont, which has evolved from a European commercial dispute to a systemic risk across Asia and Africa, where multi-billion-dollar refinery, petrochemical, and green-energy facilities depend on Tecnimont’s engineering bandwidth and financial capacity.
The threat arises from Tecnimont’s international solvency environment. After withdrawing from a massive Russian fertilizer plant due to sanctions, Tecnimont became the subject of a $2.5-billion claim from EuroChem – one of the world’s largest fertilizer companies. The dispute escalated further when EuroChem requested that 16 Italian banks freeze $118 million in Tecnimont-related transactions — a move that tightens financial oxygen around Tecnimont.
In its latest move, EuroChem announced its intent to go after Tecnimont’s assets outside of Russia, concentrating on countries in the BRICS perimeter and also the Middle East and Africa. Russia has a proven track record of enforcing its court decisions abroad. The Google–South Africa ruling, in which a Russian judgment was recognised and enforced abroad, has become a blueprint for legal aggression via asset seizure, sending a message to Asia as well.
India and Malaysia are currently the most exposed Asian markets. Tecnimont is embedded in India’s refining transformation strategy, leading EPC work for major Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) units at Paradeep and Barauni, constructing acrylic acid and butyl acrylate complexes in Gujarat, and rolling out a biogas project in Paradeep.
These projects underpin India’s shift toward cleaner fuels, import substitution in petrochemicals, and a domestic circular economy. For India, the concern is straightforward: a contractor under global asset seizure attempts may struggle with procurement, guarantee issuance, and vendor financing — the invisible infrastructure behind refinery construction. A slowdown in any of these could alter India’s refining calendar.
One of Malaysia’s flagship undertakings is also dependent on Tecnimont. The Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) — specifically the RAPID Project, managed by state energy giant Petronas is Malaysia’s biggest downstream petrochemical hub, integrating refining, petrochemicals, LNG, and utilities — a national strategic asset.
Given that RAPID units form part of Malaysia’s covenant to supply regional chemical demand — from ASEAN to East Asia — instability in Tecnimont raises risks for broader regional supply resilience.
If EuroChem applies similar tactics in Asia, then bank accounts, corporate receivables, project-linked guarantees, and even EPC performance bonds could become collateral targets.
For decades, Asian downstream growth has relied on a small cluster of European EPC specialists. Tecnimont’s predicament exposes a structural fragility: Asia’s refining ambitions are only as secure as the legal and financial resilience of its foreign contractors. India’s operational urgency and Malaysia’s developmental ambitions are now tied to a dispute that neither country initiated, yet both may absorb.
