Siam Mitsui to turnaround No 2 PTA in mid-July

09 July 2007 02:53  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Siam Mitsui will turnaround its 450,000 tonne/year No 2 purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant at Mab Ta Phut in Thailand for two weeks from mid-July, a company source said on Monday.

“The line will be shut for two weeks for a turnaround,” the source said but declined to confirm market rumours that the shutdown was due to poor economics.

Since June, Siam Mitsui had been running its three PTA lines at Mab Ta Phut at 80-85% of nameplate capacity, due to poor economics.

The company had earlier said that further production cuts were possible if margins for the PTA producer continued to be squeezed.

Feedstock paraxylene costs had risen to more than $1,300/tonne CFR (cost and freight) Taiwan this year, while PTA prices had managed no higher than $960/tonne CFR China so far this year.

It was a widely-known fact that June was a loss-making month for most PTA producers, Siam Mitsui included.

The Thai company operates a total of three PTA units at Mab Ta Phut. The No1 line had a nameplate capacity of 450,000 tonnes/year while the No3 unit has 500,000 tonnes/year.

The company is a joint venture between Thai conglomerate Siam Cement and Japanese chemicals giant Mitsui Chemicals.

By: Salmon Aidan Lee
+65 6780 4359

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