Technical glitch at Shell’s 800,000 tpa naphtha-fed steam cracker at Pulau Bukom, Singapore

21-Mar-11

Shell’s 800,000 tpa naphtha-fed steam cracker at Pulau Bukom, Singapore, has encountered a technical glitch. This has led Shell to declare force majeure on the supply of downstream petrochemical products such as monoethylene glycol, ethylene and propylene, as per Platts. However, the unplanned shutdown of Shell's steam cracker is unlikely to cause a significant bearish impact on the naphtha market as the unit is more reliant on heavy fuel oil as a cracking feedstock. Capacities includes 800,000 tpa of ethylene, 450,000 tpa of propylene, 750,000 tpa of MEG, 155,000 tpa of butadiene and 230,000 tpa of benzene, with Shell able to switch between cracker feedstock such as naphtha, LPG, middle distillates and low sulphur waxy residue.