Maoming Petchem restarts 100kt/yr ldPE unit
21 September 2006 05:26 [Source: ICIS news]
SHANGHAI (ICIS news)--Maoming Petrochemical, a subsidiary of Chinese petrochemical major Sinopec, restarted its low-density polyethylene (ldPE) unit on Thursday, company sources said.
The 100,000 tonnes/year ldPE unit at Maoming, Guangdong province was shut in early September due to a minor technical fault and a lack of ethylene feedstock.
The company was able to divert ethylene from a shut high-density PE (hdPE) unit to restart the ldPE unit, sources said.
It plans to restart the 350,000 tonnes/year hdPE unit on Friday, after shutting it on Wednesday, one source said, adding that the restart would depend on whether the new cracker can produce on-spec ethylene.
ICIS news previously reported that the company was unable to get on-spec ethylene from its new 640,000 tonnes/year cracker, which started up on 16 September. The unit was operating at a low rate and production was still unsteady.The company was also having technical problems with a pellet machine at its 170,000 tonnes/year linear low-density PE (lldPE) unit. The unit was producing on-spec powder material.
Its 160,000 tonnes/year polypropylene (PP) unit was shut earlier to provide feedstock for its new PP unit. It was unclear when it will be restarted.
Maoming Petrochemical earlier started up its new units comprising a 300,000 tonnes/year PP unit and a 150,000 tonnes/year butadiene unit.
The company has also raised its benzene, toluene and mixed xylenes (BTX) capacity to 460,000 tonnes/year from 150,000 tonnes/year, and is building a 250,000 tonnes/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.
| ICIS news FREE TRIAL |
| Get access to breaking chemical news as it happens. |
| ICIS Global Petrochemical Index (IPEX) |
| ICIS Global Petrochemical Index (IPEX). Download the free tabular data and a chart of the historical index |
Related Articles
- 27 Nov 06 05:56 Maoming Petchem shuts hdPE pellet maker
- 22 Nov 06 04:49 Maoming Petchem shuts down hdPE unit
- 10 Oct 06 04:59 Maoming Petrochemical starts hdPE film sales
- 25 Sep 06 05:51 Maoming Petchem restarts 160kt/yr PP unit
- 21 Sep 06 14:23 NPC-Alliance postpones Bataan restart to Q1 '07
- 20 Sep 06 05:01 Maoming Petchem shuts hdPE unit on C2 shortage
- 18 Sep 06 08:44 Maoming Petchem starts up new cracker
- 11 Sep 06 09:31 Maoming Petchem restarts its new hdPE unit
- 08 Sep 06 04:53 Maoming Petchem shuts ldPE unit on tech fault
- 31 Aug 06 06:14 Maoming Petchem shuts new hdPE unit
- 29 Aug 06 04:50 Maoming Petchem starts up new hdPE unit
Latest News
- 20 Jun 13 12:24 Moody's upgrades outlook of chemicals distributor Brenntag
- 20 Jun 13 12:23 Novapet's Barbastro PET plant on track for commercial product by July
- 20 Jun 13 12:17 EU chemicals volumes slump in April, says analyst Bernstein
- 20 Jun 13 12:10 EU March liquid caustic soda exports fall 29%, imports up by 18%
- 20 Jun 13 12:00 NOON SNAPSHOT Europe Markets Summary