Thai ROC to shut cracker, spot C2 rebounds to one-month high

28 October 2009 03:44  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Rayong Olefins (ROC), which runs Thailand’s largest naphtha cracker, plans to shut its 800,000 tonne/year unit next week for repairs, a source close to the company said on Wednesday.

The operating rate at the cracker had been reduced to around 90% in mid-October from 100% due to compressor issues.

“The cracker is expected to be shut for one to two weeks,” he said.

ROC had earlier bought some spot ethylene to make up for the shortfall ahead of the unscheduled shutdown and the deals were mainly done below $1,000/tonne (€670/tonne) CFR (cost and freight) southeast (SE) Asia, market sources said. The unexpected purchases partly helped ethylene spot prices to rebound to a one-month high of $920-990/tonne CFR SE Asia last week, according to data from global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

ROC is a joint venture between Siam Cement and US chemical giant Dow Chemicals.

($1 = €0.68)

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By: Peh Soo Hwee
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