LG Chem has embarked on a 30 day maintenance shutdown at its 800,000 tpa naphtha cracker. This will raise cracker capacity by 100,000 tons, augmenting LG's total capacity to 1.9 mln tp, as per Reuters. A series of heavy maintenance schedules will follow LG Chem in South Korea through May. These shutdowns are expected to weigh on Asian naphtha markets that are already set to face pressure from loss of Japanese naphtha demand. If the shutdowns of Japanese crackers continue for over a month, it will be hard for crackers in South Korea and Taiwan to consume surplus naphtha.
21-Mar-11 
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