Marun's cracker to hit full capacity in 2-3 months

18 July 2007 09:44  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Iran’s Marun Petrochemical expects to achieve full operating rates at its 1.1m tonne/year cracker and derivative plants in two-three months after the installation of a new boiler, a source close to the company said on Wednesday.

 

The cracker and downstream units in Bandar Imam were operating at 60-70% capacity, the source said, adding a 300,000 tonne/year high density polyethylene (HDPE) unit and a 400,000 tonne/year monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant were currently operating at 60% capacity.

 

The company has bought a new boiler to replace the old one, which creates steam for the 1.1m tonne/year cracker supplying ethylene to the derivative units.

 

“Marun has been exporting up to 10,000 tonnes/month of ethylene mostly to Asia and limited volumes of HDPE to the United Arab Emirates and Egypt,” the source said.

 

Marun's cracker failed to start up in April last year due to a lack of steam. A design fault had caused an imbalance of steam at the cracker, a second source close to the company said.

 

The company restarted the derivative units in late December using ethylene from other National Petrochemical Co (NPC) subsidiaries. 

 

A 300,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) unit at the cracker complex was expected to start up a month after the boiler was installed, the first source said. Feedstock propylene will also be supplied by the Marun cracker.

 

Marun Petrochemical is a subsidiary of state-run NPC and is the latest cracker to start up at the Bandar Imam complex.

By: Prema Viswanathan
+65 6780 4359

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