Gulf Resources

What Gulf Resources does

Gulf Resources, Inc. is a NASDAQ-listed (ticker GURE) holding company that conducts all of its operations through three wholly-owned PRC subsidiaries: Shouguang City Haoyuan Chemical Company Limited (SCHC), Shouguang Yuxin Chemical Industry Co., Limited (SYCI), and Daying County Haoyuan Chemical Company Limited (DCHC). Its primary revenue stream is the extraction and sale of bromine and crude salt from brine resources in Shouguang City, Shandong Province, leveraging an annual bromine production capacity of 41,547 tons as of December 2020 and one of only six Chinese government-issued bromine production licenses. A secondary stream, run through SYCI, manufactures specialty chemicals — including pharmaceutical intermediates such as T.M.B. (3.4.5-Trimethoxybenzaldehyde) for antibiotics, environmentally friendly polyol/polyatomic alcohol drilling fluids for oil and gas exploration, and papermaking additives — which are sold to pharmaceutical manufacturers, oil & gas operators, and paper producers throughout China.

The company generates revenue through direct enterprise sales to industrial customers, with the majority of bromine and crude salt volumes picked up directly from production facilities (minimizing distribution cost). It holds Class 1 Supplier status with PetroChina and Sinopec, and supplies Daqing Oilfield (CNPC) with ~10,000 metric tons annually (~$20M of historical revenue), plus Huaneng Yimin Power Plant, Longteng Industrial & Trading (papermaking), and Southwest Synthetic Pharmaceutical Corporation. A third business vertical is the exploration and development of natural gas and brine resources in Tianbao Town, Daying County (Sichuan Province) via DCHC, which is currently in suspended status pending provincial environmental planning. Beyond existing operations, Gulf Resources is constructing a new chemical factory at the Bohai Marine Fine Fine Chemical Industrial Park oriented toward higher-margin pharmaceutical intermediates.

The company is facing material operational, financial, and regulatory stress. The legacy chemical factory and Sichuan facilities have been temporarily closed for environmental reasons; FY2021 bromine output was guided to ~$45–47M net revenue but more recent periods show sharp revenue contraction. In October 2025 the company executed a 1-for-10 reverse stock split to maintain Nasdaq compliance, and in April/May 2026 it received Nasdaq delinquency notices for failing to timely file its FY2025 Form 10-K and Q1 2026 Form 10-Q. Market capitalization was approximately $7.56M as of May 2026 against a $7.75 share price, and a ~$1.04M private placement was raised in 2026 to bolster liquidity.

Name

Gulf Resources

Legal name

Gulf Resources, Inc.

Website

https://gulfresourcesinc.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Gulf Resources is a NASDAQ-listed holding company operating PRC subsidiaries that extract bromine and crude salt in Shandong, manufacture specialty chemicals (pharma intermediates, oilfield drilling fluids, papermaking additives), and explore natural gas and brine resources in Sichuan Province, selling primarily to Chinese oil & gas, pharmaceutical, and power-generation customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Chemicals

NAICS

Chemical Manufacturing (325)

SIC

Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890), Industrial Inorganic Chemicals (2810)

akta.pro primary industry

Oilfield & Refining Specialty Chemicals (IMAEABAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Water Treatment & Process Specialty Chemicals (IMAEABAN)

Keywords

• Bromine production
• Specialty chemicals
• Pharmaceutical intermediates
• Oilfield chemicals
• Crude salt manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Shouguang

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Bromine and Crude Salt Production: Primary revenue driver - produces and sells bromine and crude salt from facilities in Shouguang City, Shandong Province. Four factories currently operating with three awaiting government approval. Bromine prices have risen substantially reaching RMB 69,500 per tonne in October 2021.
2. Chemical Products (Specialty Chemicals): Manufactures chemical products for pharmaceuticals, oil & gas field explorations, papermaking industries, and wastewater treatment. New chemical factory under construction at Bohai Marine Fine Chemical Industrial Park focused on higher margin pharmaceutical intermediates.
3. Natural Gas and Brine Resources: Exploration and development of natural gas and brine resources in Daying County, Sichuan Province. Temporarily closed while province completes environmental plans. High levels of natural gas and bromine discovered in Sichuan.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Gulf Resources manufactures and sells elemental bromine, crude salt, and specialty chemicals for industrial applications including fire retardants, oilfield chemicals, water purification, pharmaceuticals, dyes, and papermaking. The company operates bromine extraction and chemical manufacturing facilities in Shandong Province and explores natural gas and brine resources in Sichuan Province through wholly-owned Chinese subsidiaries.

Product overview

Gulf Resources is a chemical manufacturing company operating through three wholly-owned subsidiaries: Shouguang City Haoyuan Chemical Company Limited (SCHC), Shouguang Yuxin Chemical Industry Co., Limited (SYCI), and Daying County Haoyuan Chemical Company Limited (DCHC). The company operates a portfolio of four main product lines: Bromine Products (elemental bromine for fire retardants, oilfield chemicals, and pharmaceuticals), Specialty Chemicals (chemical products for oil/gas exploration, papermaking, and pharmaceuticals via SYCI), Crude Salt (salt produced as a bromine extraction byproduct), and Natural Gas/Brine Resources (exploration of natural gas and brine in Sichuan Province). The company operates four bromine and crude salt factories in Shouguang City, with three additional factories awaiting government approval, and is constructing a new chemical factory at Bohai Marine Fine Chemical Industrial Park focused on higher-margin pharmaceutical intermediate products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bromine Products Elemental bromine produced through extraction from brine water resources in Shandong Province. Used by manufacturers of fire retardants, oilfield chemicals, water purification products, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, photo chemicals, dyes, and fumigants.
• Crude Salt Crude salt produced as a byproduct of bromine extraction at the company's facilities in Shouguang City, Shandong Province. Sold primarily to industrial customers in Shandong province.
• Specialty Chemicals Chemical products manufactured through subsidiary Shouguang Yuxin Chemical Industry Co., Limited (SYCI) including pharmaceutical intermediates such as T.M.B. (3,4,5-Trimethoxybenzaldehyde) for antibiotic production, oil and gas field exploration chemicals (including environmentally friendly polyol and polyatomic alcohol drilling fluids), papermaking chemical agents, and chemicals for human and animal antibiotics.
• Natural Gas and Brine Resources Natural gas and brine resources (including bromine and crude salt) exploration and development project in Tianbao Town, Daying County, Sichuan Province, operated through subsidiary Daying County Haoyuan Chemical Company Limited (DCHC). Facilities temporarily closed while the province completes environmental plans.

Quantifiable outcome

• Bromine prices increased 148% from Q3 2020 to October 2021 (RMB 69,500 per tonne)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• People's Government of Daying County, Sichuan ProvincecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2011Non-binding Letter of Intent signed by subsidiary SCHC to explore and develop potential underground brine water resources in Daying County, Sichuan Province for natural gas and bromine extraction.
• Longteng Industrial & Trading Co.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 8 July 2008Agreement to supply custom produced chemicals for use in manufacturing of high quality paper products. Longteng is the largest privately owned coated art paper producer in China. Gulf will produce five new custom paper additives.
• Shandong Institute of Light IndustrycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 July 2008Cooperative research and development agreement to create improved products for use in the papermaking industry. Agreement gives Gulf Resources sole right to use any products and technologies developed for a period of two years.
• East China University of Science & TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2007Founded a Co-Op Research and Development Center to focus on developing new bromine-based chemical compounds and products utilized in the pharmaceutical industry. All research findings and patents developed by the Center will belong to Gulf Resources.
• Southwest Synthetic Pharmaceutical Corporation Ltd.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 September 2007Letter of intent to become supplier of bromine-based chemical compound (T.M.B. - 3.4.5-Trimethoxybenzaldehyde) used to produce antibiotic drugs. One of the largest developers, manufacturers and exporters of pharmaceuticals in Western China.
• Huaneng Yimin Power PlantminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 May 2007Long-term supply agreement for proprietary environmentally friendly biocide used with power generation equipment and pipelines. Product lifespan is three to four times longer than generic competition.
• Daqing Oilfield CompanycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 April 2007Supply agreement with subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) - largest oilfield in China. Supplying petrochemical additives, demulsifiers, and cetane improvers. Approximately 10,000 metric tons worth ~$20 million in revenues.
• Government of Tianbao Town, Daying County, Sichuan ProvincecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking with governments to proceed with natural gas and brine project approvals after government finalizes land and resources planning for Sichuan Province.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Sinopec Oilfield Service Corporation: Sinopec Oilfield Service is an upstream services subsidiary of Sinopec that develops its own oilfield chemicals and drilling fluid systems for internal Sinopec operations. Comparable on oilfield drilling fluid technologies and competes with Gulf Resources' polyol/polyatomic alcohol drilling fluid offering supplied to CNPC affiliates.

Broad incumbents

• ICL Group: ICL Group is one of the world's largest bromine producers (via its Dead Sea bromine operations) and a major specialty fertilizers and specialty chemicals player. It is a broad incumbent comparable on the core bromine business and on specialty chemicals adjacencies, though much larger and more diversified than Gulf Resources.
• Clariant AG: Clariant is a global specialty chemicals company that produces oilfield, paper and pharmaceutical intermediates similar in application to Gulf Resources' specialty chemical portfolio. It is a broad incumbent comparable on the specialty chemical category mix rather than on scale or geography.
• LANXESS AG: LANXESS acquired Chemtura in 2017 to become a leading global producer of bromine and brominated specialty chemicals. Comparable to Gulf Resources on bromine chemistry and on specialty chemical products for industrial customers, although LANXESS is a diversified specialty chemicals incumbent serving global markets.
• Albemarle Corporation: Albemarle is one of the largest global producers of bromine and bromine-based specialty chemicals through its former Jordan Bromine joint venture and US operations. It competes head-on with Gulf Resources' bromine franchise and serves similar end markets (flame retardants, oilfield, pharma), albeit with a much larger and lithium-heavy portfolio.

Direct peers

• TETRA Technologies: TETRA Technologies supplies specialty oilfield chemicals and water-management chemistries to upstream operators, including demulsifiers and production chemicals that overlap with Gulf Resources' oilfield chemical additives supplied to Daqing, CNPC and Sinopec in China. Comparable as a focused oilfield specialty chemicals supplier to upstream E&P customers.

Regional players

• Shandong Weifang Bromine Plant / Shandong Ocean Chemical: Shandong Ocean Chemical and related Shandong-based bromine producers are among the small group of licensed Chinese bromine producers (six licenses nationally, one of which Gulf Resources holds). Direct regional competitors supplying Chinese industrial customers with elemental bromine.
• Shandong Tianyi Chemical: Shandong Tianyi is a Chinese bromine and inorganic chemicals producer based in Shandong province, the same region as Gulf Resources' core production. A direct regional bromine competitor for the company's primary Shandong-anchored bromine business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gulf Resources