Sasol MIBK expansion in South Africa delayed until March

15 December 2009 17:28  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Sasol’s long-planned methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) expansion in Sasolburg, South Africa, will be delayed until March due to unspecified construction issues, the energy and petrochemicals company said on Tuesday.

The expansion, which will double the site’s MIBK capacity to 60,000 tonnes/year, had been scheduled to start up in December, a company source said.

How soon the plant reaches full operating capacity depends on economic conditions, MIBK demand and how smoothly the start-up process goes, the source added.

When running at full rates, the MIBK expansion will remove an additional 40,000 tonnes/year of Sasol’s feedstock acetone from the merchant market. Acetone buyers said Asia and Europe imports are expected to be able to fill that void.

In the US, MIBK prices were 90-95 cents/lb ($1,984-2,094/tonne, €1,349-1,424/tonne), according to data from global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

($1 = €0.68)

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By: Larry Terry
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