Nippon Oil plans to cut cracker operating rates

21 October 2008 08:58  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Japan’s Nippon Oil Corp (NOC) plans to cut operating rate at its 460,000 tonne/year naphtha cracker in Kawasaki to 90-95% next month due to weak derivative demand, said a company source on Tuesday.

 

“We will be running the cracker at 100% until the end of October but we plan to reduce a little bit from November,” he said.

 

The proposed rate cut is in line with moves by other cracker operators in Asia to trim ethylene production due to poor demand from downstream sectors ranging from polyethylene to monoethylene glycol.

 

Korea’s Yeochun Naphtha Cracking Center and Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical Corp are among some of the key producers who have announced rate cuts.

 

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By: Peh Soo Hwee
+65 6780 4359

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