Maoming Petchem produces on-spec PP

21 August 2006 09:15  [Source: ICIS news]

SHANGHAI (ICIS news)--Maoming Petrochemical, a subsidiary of Chinese energy major Sinopec, started its new polypropylene (PP) unit on Saturday and is producing on-spec yarn material, company sources said on Monday.

The 300,000 tonne/year PP unit at Maoming, Guangdong province, is producing at only 20 tonnes/day, due to lack of propylene feedstock, they added.

In order to supply propylene to the new plant, the company reduced the operating rate of its existing 160,000 tonnes/year unit by 20%, company sources said.

The company could shut the older unit to provide more propylene feedstock for the new one, they added, but it was unclear when this would take place.

Maoming Petrochemical is due to start up its new 350,000 tonnes/year high-density polyethylene (hdPE) plant within the next one to two weeks, one source said. It could shut its existing PE units to supply ethylene feedstock for the new unit, the sources said.

This would be followed by the start-up of its new 640,000 tonnes/year cracker, currently scheduled for mid-September.

The company has a 380,000 tonne/year cracker, a 175,000 tonne/year hdPE/linear low-density PE (lldPE) unit, a 100,000 tonne/year ldPE unit.

Maoming Petrochemical is also building a 250,000 tonne/year ldPE unit that will start up in the first quarter of 2007.

Jade Xu contributed to this article.

By: Rena Gu
+65 6780 4356

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly