Zaklady Azotowe Kedzierzyn declares force majeure on oxo-alcohols

20 August 2010 11:42  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--Zaklady Azotowe Kedzierzyn (ZAK) has declared force majeure on product supplies from its oxo-alcohols plant at Kedzierzyn-Kozle, Poland, sources confirmed on Friday.

The company declared force majeure on 19 August after production at its synthetic gas plant was disrupted a day earlier, which led to a “complete shutdown” of the oxo-synthesis and oxo-alcohols installations, ZAK said.

“Therefore, due to consecutive and continuous unexpected problems on the oxo-alcohols installation, we regret to inform you that as a consequence we have to declare force majeure for oxo-alcohols plant,” stated a letter from ZAK to its customers.

A company source confirmed that deliveries of isobutanol (IBA), n-butanol (NBA) and 2-ethylhexanol (2-EH) as well as aldehydes would be affected. It was unclear how long the outage would last, the source added.

“Right now, we don't know,” said the ZAK source. “We expect it to be out for one or two weeks.”

The source added that deliveries would be cut by roughly 30% while the force majeure remains in place.

The nameplate capacities for the oxos installation are as follows: 36,000 tonnes/year of NBA, 24,000 tonnes/year of IBA and 132,000 tonnes/year of 2-EH, according to ZAK.

ZAK also said that it will not be able to accept any deliveries of propylene (C3) during the force majeure and that its earlier proposed delivery programme for propylene is no longer valid.

Market players said the outage was unlikely to have a major impact, since it comes during the relatively quiet August period.

“ZAK is more or less localised in eastern Europe, so there will be more inquiries coming from eastern Europe,” said another oxo-alcohols producer. “But it will not be a major problem.”

There was some concern, however, surrounding deliveries of 2-EH, which has been tighter than the butanols for the past several weeks.

“The major problem is 2-EH, which is required in other areas,” another source at ZAK said. “This could have an effect.”

Other oxo-alcohols producers in Europe include Arkema, BASF, Perstorp and Oxea.

Mark Victory contributed to this news story.

For more on 2-EH visit ICIS chemical intelligence
Please visit Will Beacham’s Look East for Chemicals blog
To discuss issues facing the chemical industry visit ICIS connect

By: Libby George
+44 208 652 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