BP Refinery Blast: Euro benzene spot price offers rise

24 March 2005 10:26  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (CNI)--Spot benzene and styrene bids in Europe were unaffected early Thursday by yesterday's fatal blast at BP’s Texas City refinery on the US Gulf but offers were starting to come in at higher levels, traders and brokers told CNI this morning.

Traders in Europe reported a nervous market in which buyers made bids at similar levels to Wednesday of around $1,120/tonne on benzene and around $1,180/tonne on styrene.

Benzene offers, however, were up $45/tonne this morning at $1,160/tonne. Styrene sellers remained on the sidelines, waiting to see what impact the blast would have on aromatics prices.

European traders said they expected that aromatics would be affected at the site as production of reformate feedstock was understood to be out of operation. However, this was unconfirmed by BP.

Fourteen people were known to have died and some 70 were injured in the explosion at the 470,000 bbl/day refinery's isomerisation unit. Adjacent facilities at the huge petrochemicals complex were also likely to have been affected,  a company spokesman told CNI. The 320,000 tonne/year fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) was rumoured to have been shut but this could not be confirmed.

By: Philippa Davies
+44 208 652 3214

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