US petrochemical producer Equistar has declared a force majeure event for polyethylene made at its Matagorda and Victoria, Texas, plants, according to a letter to customers obtained by Platts. The company cited feedstock supply disruptions as the reason for the announcement. The polyethylene force majeure comes a day after LyondellBasell, Equistar's parent company, declared a force majeure on July ethylene deliveries from its La Porte, Texas, olefins plant. The polyethylene force majeure takes effect immediately, the letter stated, and the company said it was still evaluating the impact on production capability. Direct company confirmation was not immediately available.
Multiple sources said the Equistar force majeure would bring additional tightness to the polyethylene market, as several grades of resin were heard becoming increasingly difficult to find on the spot market. The Matagorda plant produces an estimated 1.58 billion lbs/year of low density polyethylene, 1.05 billion lbs/year of linear low density polyethylene and 1.58 billion lbs/year of high density polyethylene. The Victoria plant has an annual capacity of 600 million lbs/year of HDPE and 575 million lbs/year of LLDPE.
11-Jul-14 
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