Mitsui Chem to shut Chiba cracker on schedule

20 July 2007 08:02  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Mitsui Chemical will shut down its Chiba cracker, which has an ethylene capacity of 553,000 tonnes/year, as scheduled over the weekend, a company source said on Friday.

The naphtha cracker will be shut on 21 July and restart on 10 August, he said.

This will be the second of Mitsui Chem’s crackers to be shut for maintenance this year.

The Japanese petrochemicals major also runs another cracker with an ethylene capacity of 455,000 tonnes/year in Osaka, which is currently shut for a regular maintenance.

It is expected to restart on schedule on 26 July, he added.

There was no requirement for any purchase of spot ethylene and propylene cargoes, he said, adding that they have been procured prior to the maintenance few months ago.

The country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) imposed an order in 2004 which required some crackers to hold a turnaround every year for safety checks. However, METI had granted a reprieve to one or two operators last year, including Mitsui Chemicals.

By: Gina Myung
+65 6780 4359

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