Update on PP, PE plants of Mid-Eastern producers

21-Feb-13

Middle Eastern producers have been revealing the production status of their PP, PE plants in recent days, as per ChemOrbis. While some plant start ups have been reported, few more are planning shutdowns or continuing with the shutdowns, according to market players. Early this week, Saudi Arabia's National Petrochemical Industrial Company (Natpet) reported delaying restart at its 400,000 tpa PP plant at Yanbu for two weeks due to the extended repair works. The producer shut the plant on January 26 for maintenance, which was originally planned to last until February 16. Saudi Al-Waha was also forced to shut all production units at its plant located in Jubail due to unexpected technical problems. Al-Waha owns a 450,000 tpa PP plant as well as a 460,000 tpa propane dehydrogenation unit. The shutdown is expected to last around a week, according to a company statement. Al-Waha is a joint venture between Sahara Petrochemicals holding 75% and LyondellBasell 25%. UAE’s Borouge announced restart of Borouge 2 site following a scheduled maintenance that started in early January. The company operates a 1.45 mln tpa steam cracker, a 540,000 tpa LDPE plant and two PP plants, each with a capacity of 400,000 tpa at the Borouge 2 site. Market players also reported that Sabic plans to shut its PP lines at Al-Jubail site this weekend for 20-30 days of maintenance. The producer’s production lines of around 600,000 tpa are expected to be affected by the planned turnaround, players told ChemOrbis. PetroRabigh is also said to be running its 1,300,000 tpa cracker at full rates after having resumed operations in late January following a maintenance shutdown. However, sources close to the company said that the producer’s PE plants restarted last week while PP plants were yet to be back in production. According to market players, Saudi Ethylene & Polyethylene Co (SEPC) is expected to postpone its scheduled turnaround from March to a later date. The company hosts a 400,000 tpa LDPE plant and 400,000 tpa HDPE plant at its Al Jubail complex. SEPC is a limited liability joint venture company between TSOC and LyondellBasell with a 75% and 25% shareholding.