Borealis declares force majeure on phenol grades from Porvoo

19 May 2010 17:37  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Austria-based Borealis has declared force majeure on some phenol grades from its facility at Porvoo, Finland, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.

“Borealis has problems in its phenol unit and has declared force majeure on some phenol grades. The unit was down for planned maintenance and we experienced problems when we restarted,” the spokesperson confirmed.

The phenol plant has a capacity of 195,000 tonnes/year, according to ICIS plants and projects database.

In a recent interview, Borealis’ chief financial officer (CFO), Daniel Shook, said the turnaround was ongoing and the plant was expect to come back on-stream during the weekend of 8/9 May. The shutdown started in early April.

The force majeure declaration comes at a critical time for the European phenol market, which is already experiencing serious problems with phenol availability.

Borealis is the second European producer to declare force majeure on phenol.

Spain’s CEPSA Quimica declared force majeure on phenol and acetone from its plant at Huelva, Spain, on 23 April, after it had detected major corrosion on its newest production line, line three.

Earlier that same week, INEOS Phenol announced it had put phenol customers on 85% allocation for phenol contract volumes because of problems with the availability of raw materials.

INEOS Phenol entered into a 14-day planned turnaround at its site at Gladbeck, Germany, on 18 May. The site has a capacity of 650,000 tonnes/year of phenol and 395,000 tonnes/year of acetone.

($1 = €0.82)

For more on phenol visit ICIS chemical intelligence
For more Borealis and other phenol producers, visit ICIS company intelligence
To discuss issues facing the chemical industry go to ICIS connect

By: Julia Meehan
+44 20 8652 3214

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly