Tight supply keeps spot ethylene prices firm in Asia

25-Dec-13

Spot ethylene prices rose for a second consecutive week in Asia, pushed up by tight supply, as per ChemOrbis. Shipments from the Middle East are said to be limited and a number of planned maintenance shutdowns starting in Q1-2014 are expected to keep supply tight. Spot prices climbed by US$35/ton from last week on a CFR Northeast Asia basis while they are suggesting a slightly larger gain of US$40/ton on a CFR Southeast Asia basis. Spot prices on a CFR Northeast Asia basis are up by almost US$80/ton from early December levels, when ethylene prices were below the US$1400/ton threshold. Japan's Asahi Kasei will shut their Mizushima cracker in the second half of February 2014. The 504,000 tpa cracker is expected to resume operations in April. Tosoh Corporation will conduct a month-long turnaround at their 527,000 tpa Yokkaichi cracker in Japan between March and April. Showa Denko's 690,000 tpa Oita cracker will be shut for maintenance in March. South Korea's Lotte Chemical will shut their Daesan cracker in March and their Yeosu cracker in May. Both crackers, which are estimated to have a combined ethylene capacity of 2 million tp, will remain offline briefly for four days. Thailand's PTT Global Chemical's 460,000 tpa cracker in Map Ta Phut will undergo planned maintenance between February 9 and March 17. Taiwan's CPC Corporation will take their 700,000 tpa Lin Yuan cracker offline for maintenance in April. According to ChemOrbis, more crackers are scheduled to undergo turnarounds in the second quarter of 2014. China's Zhenhai Refining & Chemical will shut their 1 mln tpa cracker for a 45-day maintenance in May. Keiyo Ethylene's 768,000 tpa cracker in Chiba, Japan will be taken offline for maintenance from May to June. Mitsubishi Chemical will shut their two Japanese crackers for maintenance between May and July. The 540,000 tpa Kashima cracker will undergo turnaround from early May to early July while the 500,000 tpa Osaka cracker will be shut for a month-long maintenance starting as of late June. Japan's Mitsui Chemicals is also mulling conducting a maintenance shutdown at their 500,000 tpa Sakai cracker sometime between Q2 and Q3.