Exxon to bring forward shutdown of petchem unit by 2-3 weeks to September

05-Sep-13

Exxon Mobil Corp is expected to advance maintenance at its 900,000 tpa steam cracker in Singapore that feeds on naphtha and heavy residue to around mid-September from October, as per sources in Reuters. This information could not be confirmed from the company. Exxon operates two crackers that produce a total of 1.9 mln tpa of ethylene. Traders said the shutdown, which will likely last between four and six weeks, is not expected to impact the naphtha market since Exxon's cracker is not solely dependent on the light end feedstock. The shutdown also coincides with Asia's top naphtha importer Formosa's maintenance at its 1.03 million tpa No. 2 cracker in Mailiao, Taiwan.