Arkema halts Rho MMA output on technical issues

10 January 2008 15:58  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Arkema has halted methyl methacrylate (MMA) production at its plant in Rho, Italy, due to technical issues, a company source said on Thursday.

 

The Rho plant, which has a 90,000 tonne/year nameplate capacity, according to ICIS plants and projects, was closed earlier this week and is set to return to production next week at the earliest, the source said.

 

The company source would not elaborate on the nature of the issues at the plant, but said the impact could be felt in the market. However, certain buyers and producers said they were yet to see any impact in the wider market.

 

First-quarter MMA negotiations were under way, with two producers nominating increases of €50-75/tonne ($74-110/tonne) on the recent upturn of feedstock methanol and propylene pricing, along with surging energy costs.

 

Fourth-quarter 2007 contracts were assessed at €1,520-1,600/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) by global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

 

($1 = €0.68)

By: Peter Salisbury
+44 20 8652 3214

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