EPCA ’08: Brazil’s PQU delays cracker restart

28 September 2008 16:37  [Source: ICIS news]

MONTE CARLO (ICIS news)--Brazilian petrochemicals producer Petroquimica Uniao (PQU) plans to restart its cracker in Sao Paulo on 16 October, 10 days after it was originally scheduled to, a company official said on Sunday.

 

No reason was given for the delay.

 

The stoppage included an expansion project that would raise PQU’s ethylene capacity by 200,000 tonnes/year to 700,000 tonnes/year, the official added on the sidelines of the European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) conference.

 

 Maintenance at the 500,000 tonne/year unit began on 22 August.

 

Brazil has total ethylene capacity of 3.4m tonnes/year, according to the ICIS plants and projects database.

 

PQU is the third Brazilian olefins maker to perform maintenance in 2008.

 

In March, Copesul shut down one of its Triunfo crackers for a 30-day turnaround, while Braskem shut down one of its Camacari crackers in late May, also for 30 days.

 

PQU is controlled by Quattor, a joint venture of UNIPAR (60%) and state-run oil company Petrobras (40%).

 

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By: William Lemos
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