SABIC plans Gelsenkirchen PP restart next week

24 July 2008 17:07  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--SABIC’s 300,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) homopolymer line in Gelsenkirchen, Germany is still out of action after failing on 7 July, a company source said on Thursday.

“We hope that the line will be back up after the weekend,” the source said.

The company’s two other lines, with a combined annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes/year were running normally.

SABIC’s stocks were low due to the new production issue and a force majeure on PP at Geleen, the Netherlands, in May.

“We will be aiming to increase our August PP prices by €100/tonne ($156/tonne),” said the company source, citing the low stocks and sustained demand as reasons for the move.

Other PP producers were beginning to consider their options for August, after successfully covering the whole of the €88/tonne increase in third-quarter propylene in July. Several confirmed that they would be seeking higher prices.

Dow last week announced a planned €200/tonne hike for August but this was widely seen as unrealistic.

Homopolymer injection PP prices were trading at a minimum of €1,300/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe).

PP producers in Europe include LyondellBasell, Borealis, Total Petrochemicals, Dow Chemical, Repsol and INEOS Polyolefins.

($1 = €0.64)

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By: Linda Naylor
+44 20 8652 3214

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