Shell lifts force majeure on propylene from Wesseling site

16 September 2009 17:38  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Shell has lifted the force majeure it declared on propylene supplies from its site at Wesseling, Germany, as feedstock issues have been resolved, a company source said on Wednesday.

Shell, which operates two crackers the site, declared force majeure in late August following a problem upstream, which was restricting operating rates.

It was not immediately clear whether Shell had lifted the force majeure on ethylene supplies from the Wesseling site.

However, the force majeure on propylene supplies from Shell’s cracker at Moerdijk, the Netherlands, was still in place after it was declared in mid-August due to a combination of technical issues at the cracker and problems at a neighbouring refinery.

“We weren't able to cover the shortfall, hence the force majeure,” the source said, but adding that the supply situation had improved slightly since some of the technical issues had been resolved.

Shell operates two crackers at the Wesseling site, 2A and 2B, which have the combined capacity to produce 500,000 tonnes/year of ethylene and 280,000 tonnes/year of propylene, according to the ICIS plants and projects database.

The Moerdijk cracker has the capacity to produce 500,000 tonnes/year of propylene.

For more on propylene visit ICIS chemical intelligence
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By: Nel Weddle
+44 20 8652 3214

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