Sunoco US refinery fire prompts PP force majeure

26 May 2009 16:44  [Source: ICIS news]

(Recast for clarity)

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Last week’s fire at Sunoco’s Marcus Hook refinery in Pennsylvania prompted the company to declare force majeure on polypropylene (PP) due to a disruption of  feedstock supply, a company spokesman said on Monday.

The fire did not damage the polypropylene (PP) unit at the complex, said Sunoco spokesman Thomas Golembeski.

“We are developing an allocation plan with the intent to minimise the impact on all of our valued customers,” Golembeski said.

PP buyers and sellers last week said the domestic market was too oversupplied for the force majeure to have any significant impact. US producers have been exporting as much as possible to compensate for slack domestic demand.

The Marcus Hook PP plant has 345,000 tonnes/year capacity, according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

The plant consumes ethylene from the adjacent refinery to produce some grades of PP. An explosion and fire shut down the ethylene unit on 17 May.

Golembeski said Sunoco is reviewing its inventories and product requirements and is in the process of re-allocating production to other PP plants with ethylene supply.

Sunoco operates two other PP plants in Texas and West Virginia.

The company closed its 200,000 tonne/year Bayport, Texas, plant in March.

For more on Sunoco's Marcus Hook plant, visit ICIS plants and projects
For more on polypropylene visit ICIS chemical intelligence
To discuss issues facing the chemical industry go to ICIS connect

By: David Barry
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