Honam to cut cracker, polyolefins op rate to 70%

30 October 2008 08:22  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--South Korean major Honam Petrochemical plans to reduce the operating rates at its cracker and polyolefins plants in Yeosu and Daesan to 70% from 1 November due to poor downstream demand, a company source said on Thursday.

“The lower production rate will apply to the cracker, and the polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) plants,” the source said.

Honam operates two PP lines at Yeosu with a combined capacity of 380,000 tonnes/year and a 370,000 tonne/year high density PE (HDPE) plant on the same site.

It also runs two PP units at Daesan – through its sister company Lotte Daesan – which have a total capacity of 550,000 tonnes/year as well as a 140,000 tonne/year low density/ethylene vinyl acetate (LDPE/EVA) line and a 320,000 tonne/year linear low density PE/HDPE swing plant.

Lotte Daesan operates a 1m tonne/year cracker at Daesan while Honam’s cracker in Yeocheon has a nameplate ethylene capacity of 750,000 tonnes/year.

As part of the production cutback, one of the PP lines at Yeosu – with a 120,000 tonne/year capacity – would be shut for two weeks from around 15 November. One of the PP lines at Daesan, with a 250,000 tonne/year capacity, would also be taken offline at around the same time for 10 days, he added.

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By: Chow Bee Lin
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