PCS plans cracker shutdown at the end of August

04-Aug-05

Singapore's biggest petrochemicals producer, Petrochemical Corp. of Singapore (PCS)'s naphtha cracker, is currently running at about 90% capacity, and has been facing problems at its heat-recovery unit since February. The cracker's operating rate has been fluctuating due to the technical problems. PCS plans to shut down its 465,000 tpa No.1 naphtha cracker from Aug. 30-31 for 2-3 weeks of unscheduled repairs. The downstream units that produce benzene, toluene, xylene and butadiene will be shut along with the cracker. PCS had notified its downstream buyers - The Polyolefins Company and Ethylene Glycol of Singapore on the shutdown schedule. The downstream companies are likely to shut their operations, or cut their operating rates in response to the cracker downtime. The 60,000 tpa methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in the No.1 petrochemical complex will continue to run at a sharply reduced rate, subject to availability of C4 feedstock supply, which was built up over the past month. The shutdown in September will cut the company's naphtha and condensate requirements, and is expected to hit the recovering Asian naphtha market