S Korea’s Samsung Petchem to shut 2 Ulsan PTA lines in Oct

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--South Korea’s Samsung Petrochemical would shut two of its purified terephthalic acid (PTA) lines at Ulsan in October for about 10 days each following the maintenance shutdown of a power supplier, a company source said on Thursday.

The company would shut its 200,000 tonne/year No 1 line and 450,000 tonne/year No 3 unit, staggering their shutdown by a week, the source said. However, its 200,000 tonne/year No 2 line in Ulsan will continue running.

"The power company said they would be down in October, so some plants in the [Ulsan area] would be affected," the source added.

Separately, South Korea’s KP Chemical would also be shutting its two paraxylene lines at Ulsan, as well as its 350,000 tonne/year PTA unit.

Other companies with plants located in Ulsan, such as Taekwang Industrial, Hyosung and SK Petrochemicals would not be affected by the power outage as they get electricity from another supplier, sources from these companies said.