Mitsubishi delays commercial output at new Haldia PTA plant

19 May 2009 13:02  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Mitsubishi Chemical (India) has delayed the start of commercial production at its new 800,000 tonne/year purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant at Haldia, in West Bengal state, company sources said on Tuesday.

Production had originally been planned to start in June, the sources said, adding that no new date has been decided yet.

"There were some mechanical problems about 10 days ago, and the start-up did not go smoothly," said one of the sources, who added that engineers were currently trying to fix the problems.

"We'd informed our customers one by one that deliveries could be delayed and how we could supply them during this time," said the source.

"It's almost impossible for a June [commercial production] now," said the source, who was unable to say when the plant would start running again and produce on-spec material.

The Japanese-owned company mechanically completed the project in April, and had carried out a series of tests until earlier this month.

The company also operates a 480,000 tonne/year PTA unit in Haldia, which was running normally.

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By: Salmon Aidan Lee
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