BP Refining declares force majeure on C2, C3 from Gelsenkirchen

30 September 2009 11:11  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--BP Refining and Petrochemicals (BPRP) has declared force majeure on ethylene (C2) and propylene (C3) supplies from its site at Gelsenkirchen, Germany, following an unplanned technical outage at its No 4 cracker, a company source said on Wednesday.

“We have had to cut back our customers by a certain percentage,” the source said, adding that it had tried to swap in material as an alternative.

The No 4 cracker went down on 26 September and was expected to remain off line until 4 October, the source said. 

Reduced operating rates were likely once the cracker is brought back on line, but this would depend on the extent of furnace damage caused by the forced shutdown, according to the source.

The cracker, which is one of two operated by BPRP at the Gelsenkirchen site, is capable of producing 515,000 tonnes/year ethylene and 260,000 tonnes/year propylene, according to the ICIS plants and projects database.

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By: Nel Weddle
+44 20 8652 3214

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