Europe INEOS NOVA lifts PS/EPS FM at Wingles

17 May 2010 15:04  [Source: ICIS news]

(ICIS news)--INEOS NOVA has lifted force majeure restrictions on general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and packaging grades of expandable polystyrene (EPS) from its  Wingles site in France, the company said in a statement on Monday.

The company declared force majeure on product from its Wingles facility near Lille, in northern France, on 5 May after a barge operators' strike led to styrene barges being blockaded.

“The blockade of the canals by French barge owners has now been cleared. The regular supply of styrene monomer to the Wingles site has been resumed and all production lines have been restarted and are now operating smoothly,” explained the statement.

GPPS prices had increased by €20-30/tonne ($25-37/tonne) in May, to €1,310-1,330/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) on a net basis, on tight supply, exacerbated by the force majeure, and EPS packaging grades had risen by €70-80/tonne, to €1,380-1,460/tonne FD NWE.

Production had been tailored to meet demand for many months in the PS market and the force majeure restrictions had sent many buyers urgently seeking product elsewhere.

PS producers in Europe include BASF, Dow Chemical, INEOS NOVA, Polimeri Europa and Total Petrochemicals.

($1 = €0.81)

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