Sharq delays restart of second Jubail LLDPE line

11 December 2007 07:48  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)-Eastern Petrochemical (Sharq) restarted one of its two linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) lines Saudi Arabia last weekend following a turnaround, but has delayed the restart of its second line, a source close to the company said on Tuesday.

"The restart date of the second line is not confirmed," the source said. The reasons for the delay were also not disclosed.

The two lines, with a total capacity of 750,000 tonnes/year at Al Jubail were shut down for maintenance on 22 November.

Sharq officials were not immediately available for comment.

The delay will exacerbate the tight supply of LLDPE in the Middle East and Asia, traders said.

Limited availability caused LLDPE prices to rise by $30/tonne in the Middle East on Friday from a week ago, according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing, and the strong trend was likely to continue into the first quarter of 2008.

Sharq, a 50:50 joint venture between Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) and SPDC, a Japanese consortium headed by Mitsubishi Corp and Mitsubishi Chemical, also operates a 1.3m tonne/year cracker at Al Jubail.

By: Prema Viswanathan
+65 6780 4359

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