INEOS ChlorVinyls halts production at Runcorn plant

20 April 2009 17:46  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS News)--INEOS ChlorVinyls has shut the methylene chloride, chloroform and methyl chloride units at its plant at Runcorn, UK, due to a technical problem, a source at the company said on Monday.

The shutdown, which took place over 18-19 April, is expected to halt production of the chemicals for at least a week, the source said.

The shutdown came as some methylene chloride producers were trying to increase prices in an effort to recover revenue lost by falling caustic soda prices.

Another methylene chloride producer said the INEOS closure would help it to push through a price increase in May. 

The shutdown is unlikely to have a large effect the chloroform market, as INEOS uses most of its chloroform captively for the production of the refrigerant R22.

The chloroform market has been has been hit by weak demand for refrigerants from the automotive and construction sectors. 

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By: Matthew Bristow
+44 208 652 3214

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