ExxonMobil to postpone cracker maintenance to end-Feb

18 February 2010 10:12  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Energy giant ExxonMobil will postpone the maintenance of its 900,000 tonne/year cracker in Singapore to end-February, from mid-February as originally planned, an industry source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

“Looking at the margins, they can postpone the shutdown,” said a trader. “When everyone is so worried about margins going forward, they should capture the margins now,” he added.

The maintenance would take place for two weeks.

The company declined to comment on the operational status of their facilities.

Asian ethylene margins hovered between $550.00-610.00/tonne (€401-445/tonne), wide enough to cover a base cost of $200.00-300.00/tonne, traders said.

($1 = €0.73)

Additional reporting by Felicia Loo

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